


Eight Days

by ChipsintheChapel



Category: Call the Midwife
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Cute Awkwardness, Modern AU, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-13
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-02-14 05:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13000503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChipsintheChapel/pseuds/ChipsintheChapel
Summary: A fluffy coffee shop first(ish)-meet AU for your holiday enjoyment. Lots of friends and adorable awkwardness and lesbians.The story will be told in real-time over the eight days of Hannukah.





	1. Tuesday

**Author's Note:**

> The holiday season always makes me want warm fluff, so I thought you might enjoy some too. Though the story is told over these 8 days, it's not a Hannukah story, but rather a little Hannukah gift for the wonderful Call the Midwife fandom. I hope that you enjoy. :)

Delia sat at her desk tapping her pen mindlessly against her notebook. It was no use. She had seven days until her last final exam, and four days until her massive term paper was due, and she just…couldn’t concentrate. Her room, her whole flat, actually, felt like an endless pit of distractions. 

She’d spent two hours this morning making breakfast, then cleaning up after breakfast, then deciding that now was a great time to reorganize the spice drawer because she hadn’t been able to find the garlic powder _for_ breakfast, then researching a spice Val had bought that she’d never heard of, then looking up recipes using that spice because it sounded delicious, then planning a dinner from the recipes she’d found. All of which was infinitely more pleasant than sitting and doing the work she _had_ to do, and none of which she had time for. 

This was the _one_ time this week she had the entire day off. She needed to make the most of it. 

She sighed as she stared at her closet, feeling her palms start to itch with a desire to re-organize all of her clothing by colour. Why couldn’t she ever be motivated to do things around the house when she _didn’t_ have any work to do? 

No, there was nothing else for it. She needed to get out of here. She ran through the options in her head. Campus was too far away. The local library never had any tables available. She’d be just as distracted at friends’ houses. Maybe she should just go to Libby’s. 

She’d holed herself up in the small local coffee shop & bakery for the week before her mid term exams, finding it a cosy, welcoming, well-lit space to work. She’d been remarkably productive there. The problem with Libby’s was that, while it lacked distractions, it had an endless array of financial temptations…none of which she could afford. Sitting there and smelling the delectable baked goods and knowing that she couldn’t buy any of them was a form of light torture. 

But she needed to work, so she’d just have to order her usual tea and then exercise self-control. 

As she packed up her bag to take with her, her mind wandered to Patsy, the redheaded barista that had been at Libby’s during her mid term studying. She’d been so nice to chat with at the end of a long day of memorization. She wondered if she still worked there. Maybe she’d be interested in chatting some more?

She shook her head. She didn’t have time for daydreams about unattainably attractive women who were probably straight anyway. The baked goods were temptation enough. She was going to Libby’s to get _away_ from distractions and nothing was going to disturb her focus.

 

__________ 

 

Patsy turned to help the latest customer who’d appeared at the counter and almost dropped the cup she was holding. 

She was back. 

Dressed in jeans, a puffy jacket and an adorable beanie was the brunette who’d come and spent a week holed up in the shop several months ago. Delia. 

Patsy gulped. They’d had such nice conversations over those seven days, and Patsy had become a bit...smitten. Once or twice she’d thought about asking if Delia wanted to perhaps chat more somewhere, but then she’d always been too nervous and scared. Delia seemed so unattainably cool and confident, and was probably straight anyway. 

But then the brunette had simply…disappeared, and that gave Patsy the freedom to daydream a little. She’d imagine Delia coming back in one day and asking her out. Or, in her wilder dreams, she’d imagine confidently asking Delia out when the brunette stopped by to grab a tea one afternoon. All of these musings felt completely harmless because Patsy had honestly never expected to see her again. But now, Delia was here, in the flesh, standing across the counter looking expectantly at her. She watched as Delia’s brow furrowed slightly. 

‘Ummm…are you alright?’ 

Snapping out of her stupor, Patsy realized that she’d just been standing there staring. Shit. Shit shit shit. This wasn’t how her daydreams had gone _at all_. 

‘Yes. Sorry. I’m fine. I just…phased out for a moment.’ She placed the coffee she’d been holding down near the espresso machine and approached the counter. ‘I suppose I should say Welcome Back. I trust that your mid term exams went well.’ 

Delia’s eyebrows shot up and a brief look of shock shot through her eyes and for just a moment Patsy worried she’d said something wrong. But then a broad, beaming smile broke out across her face, and it was so beautiful Patsy couldn’t breathe for a moment. 

‘Yes, they went very well, thank you for asking. I’m surprised you remembered. Now it’s final and term paper time, though, so I’m afraid I’m back for more.’ 

Patsy smiled, ‘Well, hopefully this can be just as productive a space for you as it was before. Would you like your usual? Earl Grey, heavy on the milk?’ 

Delia nodded happily.

‘Anything else?’ 

The brunette’s eyes flicked briefly to the case of baked goods, lingering for several seconds on the éclairs before she looked back up with a slightly sad smile and shook her head, ‘No. Just the tea.’ 

‘Why don’t you go get settled and I’ll bring it over to you once it’s steeped?’ 

Once Delia had walked over to one of the tables in the corner, Patsy set the tea steeping and ducked into the tiny kitchen to text Trixie. 

_SOS, Trix…she’s back!_

Several moments later, the response came buzzing back.

**Who?**

_Delia. The brunette from several months ago._

**Good. Now you can stop being such a scaredy-cat and ask her out**

_What? No. I’ve already buggered everything up by being too awkward when she came in._

**I’m sure you were just your normal self**

_I stared at her with my mouth open for 30 solid seconds_

**See? Normal.**

_Very funny. I need to go bring her her tea._

**Ask her out while you’re at it.**

Patsy rolled her eyes and slid her phone back in her pocket. _That_ definitely wouldn’t be happening. Not today, at least. 

She smiled and added a good portion of steamed milk to the tea. She remembered that Delia liked a _very_ milky brew. Picking up the mug, she took a deep breath as she prepared to carry it over to where the brunette was working. Alright Patience, she thought to herself, be smooth. 

 

________________

 

Delia watched Patsy walking back to the counter with a small smile. She _knew_ she needed to focus. That was the entire point of being here. But as she sipped her tea and stared at her notes one thought kept running through her head over and over again. Patsy had remembered her.

 

________________


	2. Wednesday

Delia smiled to herself as she wandered down the street towards Libby’s. Once she had gotten over the distraction of her initial happy surprise, the coffee shop had proven to be just the environment she needed, and she’d been incredibly productive. She was hoping for another efficient afternoon of paper writing after a tiring morning shift at work. 

She _also_ hoped for another interaction with Patsy. The redhead had been remarkably accommodating when Delia had stayed working right up until the shop closed, trying desperately to outline the final section of her paper before she had to leave. She even let her stay an extra fifteen minutes so she could finish. 

Afterwards, they’d chatted a bit about when her final projects were due, general holiday plans (Delia was leaving for Wales on Tuesday, Patsy was staying in town) and, oddly, about their favourite fish and chip shops. Patsy was so wonderfully easy to talk to, despite her inexplicable tendency to get nervous whenever anything remotely personal was brought up. Delia had no idea how someone who was so gorgeous and who managed a coffee shop with such even-handed efficiency could be so adorably _awkward_. 

Not that she was letting Patsy distract her from the work she had to do. No, she would have swung by the flat after work to change clothes and fix up her hair regardless. And it always took her a while to pick out exactly what she wanted to wear…there were so many options and it was always important to look nice and put-together in public. And so what if she’d chosen to wear one of her most flattering tops today? Sometimes it was nice to feel a little dressed up. 

She pushed open the door to Libby’s, stepping gratefully into the shop’s enveloping warmth. She looked hopefully behind the counter for Patsy, but was disappointed to find that today the redhead had been replaced by a short woman with wildly curly strawberry-blonde hair. A subtle line of questioning revealed that Wednesday was Patsy’s day off. 

Delia ordered her tea and took her seat, a bit taken aback by just how disappointed she felt. Oh well, she was here to study after all, and perhaps not having Patsy there would help hone her focus even more. Anyway, there was always tomorrow. 

 

___________________

 

Patsy sat at the table in her kitchen feeling anxious. She’d thought about going in to work today, but giving up her one day off just so that she could interact with a customer she thought was cute felt a bit…desperate. Still, she’d woken up feeling entirely preoccupied with thoughts of Delia. She’d tried to keep herself busy running every errand she could possibly think of, but she’d finished that around noon. Cleaning her already spotless room and every common area in the house came next, but then Cynthia and Barbara had gotten home and forced her up from where she was scrubbing an already immaculate bathroom floor to join them for a cup of tea. 

After a bit of badgering, she’d revealed the cause of her disquiet, to which Cynthia had softly suggested that Patsy simply ask Delia out. 

Patsy sighed, ‘I would…well, I might, but the thing is I don’t even know if she likes women. I’d feel a lot more confident if I knew that, but my gaydar’s always been ghastly.’

Cynthia looked unperturbed, ‘Why don’t you just ask her? I mean, if you’ve been chatting, you have a bit of a rapport developed. Just subtly ask if she’s gay.’ 

‘Cynthia, I can’t be going around asking my customers if they’re gay just because they’re friendly and I think they’re cute. It’s quite unprofessional, and would undoubtedly be bad for business.’

Barbara furrowed her brow, ‘Hmm…if I was trying to determine if a woman was a lesbian, I’d probably look for short hair and rainbow accessories…or maybe plaid and I don’t know…a more _masculine_ bearing.’ 

Not for the first time, Patsy mused to herself that she could really use more queer friends, ‘Yes, thank you Barbara, that was a delightful list of stereotypes. But no, she has none of those attributes.’

Barbara shrugged, ‘Sorry I can’t be more helpful, I don’t really know any lesbians.’ 

‘Babs, we share a flat.’ 

‘Hmm…that’s true.’ A look of vindication flashed across Barbara’s face as she pointed at Patsy’s shirt, ‘And see? I wasn’t _that_ far off.’ 

Patsy looked down at her check shirt and rolled her eyes, ‘Check shirts are very ‘in’ right now Babs.’ 

Suddenly they heard the door downstairs fly open followed by the sound of Trixie clomping her giant suitcase up the stairs. Shortly, the blonde appeared at the top of the stairs, breathing heavily, her face a bit red from exertion. 

‘I swear, Patsy, one day I’m going to leave you for a flat with a lift.’ 

Patsy shot Trixie a little smirk, ‘Welcome back, Trix. You wouldn’t _need_ a lift if you didn’t horrendously over-pack for every trip. I’m not sure you needed a suitcase that could hold my entire wardrobe for a four-day getaway. Would you like a cup of tea?’ Trixie nodded and Patsy rose to prepare a cup. She looked back over her shoulder, ‘I trust your romantic sojourn went well?’ 

Trixie gave a satisfied smile as she took a seat at the table, ‘It went _very_ well. He was absolutely wonderful. But to be honest I’m much more interested in the recent developments in _your_ love life. Did you ask her out?’ 

Patsy rolled her eyes, ‘No, Trixie, I didn’t ask her out.’ 

Trixie looked disappointed but not surprised, ‘Oh for goodness sake, Patience, a perfectly nice woman has almost literally walked into your lap. It doesn’t get any easier than that.’ 

Cynthia spoke up, ‘She’s worried that Delia might not be gay, and she doesn’t want to hurt business at Libby’s by asking.’ 

‘Oh, that’s balderdash! She’s scared of asking and is using her uncertainty about Delia’s sexuality as an excuse.’ 

Patsy rushed to defend herself as she handed Trixie her tea and sat back down, ‘That’s not true. If I knew she was gay, I’d ask her out. Or, at least I’d be much more likely to.’ 

‘Well then, that’s easy. We just need to determine if she’s a lesbian.’ Trixie whipped out her phone and started typing furiously. 

‘Uh, Trix. What are you doing? We don’t even know her last name, so we can’t look her up on social media.’ 

‘Just give me a moment, sweetie. And that’s not what I’m doing. I’m texting Tony to ask him about current lesbian culture. To see if he has any suggestions.’

‘Tony’s a gay man, Trix. You _live_ with a lesbian.’ 

‘Yes, a lesbian who stays in and watches Netflix on the couch drinking tea. Tony knows lesbians who go out and about and know lesbian culture.’ 

‘Staying in and watching Netflix on the couch _is_ lesbian culture.’ 

‘Hush you, and let me write this text.’ 

They all sat in slightly awkward silence for a moment as Trixie sent her message before Cynthia broke through the stillness. 

‘You know, I was reading an article about how gaydar is really just pheromones. So when people say someone is setting off their gaydar, it really just means they’re smelling them.’ 

Patsy raised her eyebrows, ‘You want me to smell her?’ 

Cynthia smiled and shook her head, ‘No, you’ve already _been_ smelling her, and there could be like, an aura or something that you’re sensing.’ 

‘Her _aura_ is that she makes me nervous and I say stupid things.’ 

‘That could be because of the pheromones.’ Cynthia said it like it was the most common sense thing in the world. 

‘Or because she’s gorgeous,’ Patsy mumbled. 

Trixie cut them off, ‘Well, before we send Patsy off to smell people, let’s talk about more socially appropriate ways to figure it out.’ 

They all turned and looked expectantly at the blonde. 

‘Now, everyone knows that if you want to know if someone’s gay, first you have to try to get them to use a pronoun. She must have exes, so casually, over the course of the conversation, try to get her to use a pronoun when talking about someone she’s dated.’ 

Patsy raised her eyebrows, ‘ _Everyone_ knows this?’ 

Trixie nodded authoritatively and looked down at her phone, which had just buzzed, ‘Okay, Tony says that you should use gal pals.’

‘Gal pals?’ 

‘Yes, apparently it’s now what lesbians call each other when they’re dating.’ 

‘They don’t just say girlfriends?’ 

‘Not anymore, evidently.’ 

‘Ummm…okay.’

Trixie looked at her phone and her brow furrowed, ‘This one’s odd. He also says that when they think someone is a lesbian they look at each other and say ‘Harold.’

‘Harold?’ Patsy was baffled. 

Trixie went back to furiously tapping on her phone. Patsy looked at Barbara who simply shrugged. 

‘He says it’s from that _Carol_ movie or something. He doesn’t really understand, but says that the lesbians think it’s hilarious.’ 

Patsy had seen the movie and quite enjoyed it, but didn’t remember there being a Harold, ‘Are you sure it’s not Harge?’ 

Trixie got an instant response, ‘No. He says it’s definitely Harold.’ 

Patsy was now thoroughly confused and more sure than ever that she needed more queer female friends. 

Trixie looked up from her phone with a look of satisfaction, ‘There! That should give you plenty to work with.’ 

‘But Trixie, I don’t understand any of it.’ 

Trixie waved her hand dismissively, ‘You said she’s a bit younger than you, I’m sure _she’ll_ understand.’ 

Patsy wasn’t so sure about this. She had a sneaking suspicion this was all a terrible idea, ‘So I’m supposed to ask her about her exes and then talk about gal pals and Harold?’ 

Trixie nodded, looking pleased, ‘Yes. And then you’ll know if she’s gay and if she is you can ask her out.’ 

Patsy furrowed her brow. She wasn’t sure this was the greatest plan, but Trixie seemed so confident it would work.

Her three flatmates were looking at her expectantly, so finally she took a deep breath and conceded, ‘I suppose it’s worth a try.’


	3. Thursday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mary Boyd, who makes an appearance this chapter, is the creation of Echo7 from her spectacular fic _There But for the Grace of God_. She and Allie are used with permission, and I'm extremely grateful for the trust she's shown in allowing me to borrow her characters.

Patsy looked up from where she had been cleaning the espresso machine and smiled as Delia approached. She actually felt fairly ready for this conversation.

Last night, after chatting with her flatmates, she'd Googled 'Harold Carol.’ She'd learned it was a meme, but remained confused about its exact implications, and had decided not to reference it. She didn't want to unintentionally send the wrong message. 

The same went for gal pals. She figured she wouldn't just mention girlfriends out of the blue, so she shouldn't throw gal pals in there either. 

But trying to get pronouns, _that_ was a challenge she could handle. No need for hip references... unless there was an emergency, of course. Then she'd have them in her back pocket. 

She'd spent an embarrassingly long time considering all of the ways she could try to coax a pronoun out of Delia, and she felt like she had quite the arsenal prepared. For every possible situation, she had at least three leading questions that would be bound to elicit a pronoun in response. 

And Delia's appearance today had only confirmed her desire to dig a little deeper. The brunette was wearing tight black pants and had taken off her jacket to reveal an incredibly flattering polka dot top. Patsy had spent a good part of the afternoon trying not to simply stare at the focused brunette as she typed furiously on her laptop. Once, Delia had gotten up to use the loo and Patsy had almost burned her hand on the milk she was steaming as her eyes followed the brunette longingly.

Delia reached the counter, a beaming grin stretched across her face. 

Patsy smiled and set down her rag, 'Well, you look quite pleased. I take it your writing went well?'

Delia nodded rapidly, 'Spectacularly, in fact. I've completely finished my first draft! I don't think I've actually gotten a paper done before the _hour_ it was due since...since...well, ever, I guess.' 

Patsy chuckled, 'Yes, you mentioned your extraordinary powers of procrastination.' She looked down at the almost empty case of baked goods, 'Would you like a slice of cake to celebrate?' 

A worried look flashed across Delia’s face, and before she could respond, Patsy added, 'It would be on the house, of course. It's the end of the day and the remaining baked goods will be heading off in the donation van soon anyways.' 

Relief spread across the brunette's face, 'Really?' Patsy nodded reassuringly so Delia continued, 'In that case, I'd love one. I was feeling a bit peckish.' 

Patsy placed the slice on a plate and slid it across the counter along with a fork. Delia tucked in happily, closing her eyes to savour the flavour and making a small moaning noise as the cake hit her tongue. Patsy felt her stomach flip as she stared. 

Delia’s eyes were twinkling when she opened them, ‘Patsy, this is absolutely _delicious_.’ 

Patsy could feel herself puffing up with pride. 

Delia furrowed her brow slightly and continued, ‘I’m surprised you felt comfortable giving it to me, though. The woman working here yesterday seemed nervous to give me milk when I asked to re-steep my tea. She said that the owner can be very strict about resources not being used appropriately. She made it sound like he’s a real hard-ass.’ 

Patsy raised an eyebrow, ‘Did she now?’ 

Delia nodded as she took another giant bite, ‘You don’t agree?’ 

‘Not really. I think Winifred just gets a little carried away sometimes. I’m sorry she tried to deny you milk for your tea.’ 

‘Oh no, it was fine. Anyway, _you_ were back today.’ Delia said it as if Patsy’s presence had solved every problem in the world and it made her blush. She moved quickly to change the subject. 

‘I’m not surprised you were peckish, you sit here for hours and never eat anything.’ 

Delia shrugged, ‘Oh, that’s because I grab a snack at work and eat it on my way here.’ 

Patsy was a bit horrified, ‘You eat your lunch while walking in the street?’ 

This led to a rather lengthy discussion of the most inappropriate places to have a meal. Delia said it was sitting in a church. Patsy said it was at a funeral. After much debate, they reached the joint conclusion that at a funeral in a church would be worst of all. 

This subsequently led to a conversation about where they’d gotten the dirtiest looks for eating in public. Patsy had once been absolutely _famished_ at an art museum and had surreptitiously wolfed down a muffin in the hallway by the 17th Century Flemish paintings before being reprimanded by a guard. Delia said she got dirty looks every time she went home on the train for eating absolutely massive sandwiches in her seat. She then launched into a highly amusing story involving an elderly nun who’d stolen a biscuit from her bag while she’d been preoccupied with her ham sandwich. 

Delia’s train ride home to Wales! That was one of the situations that Patsy had prepared for. As soon as Delia had finished, she pounced on the opportunity, 'And you're always sitting next to strangers on the train home? No one's ever come home with you?' She winced at how noticeably her tone had changed. How tremulous her voice got. How obvious her nerves were. 

Delia, completely wrapped up in her story, didn't seem to pick up the change in Patsy's demeanour, 'Oh no, someone would have to be pretty special for me to subject them to my mam.' 

Patsy tried again, 'So she'd be quite intimidating, for whoever it was?'

Delia nodded blithely, 'Oh yes, I fear she'd scare away the poor soul and put them off me entirely.'

Why wasn’t this working? Patsy wracked her brain and hoped the third time would be the charm, 'You certainly wouldn't want that. You'll just have to warn that special someone when the time comes.'

Delia remained oblivious, 'Never fear, they'll get a full run-down of all of her many quirks and foibles.' 

Patsy nodded, feeling a little frustrated. She _hadn’t_ gotten a pronoun, had just asked an oddly personal series of questions, and had absolutely no follow-up. 

'Well good.' Ugh. Was that all she had? She picked up the rag again and began cleaning the espresso machine, desperate for something to do with her hands. She glanced over and noticed that Delia was looking at her a bit oddly. 

Suddenly Patsy realized that maybe Delia had been using 'them' pronouns because she _was_ gay and was used to hiding the gender of her partner. But she'd done it _so smoothly_. Never forcing it in or hesitating in the slightest. Patsy just wasn't sure. Maybe Delia needed a little sign. Perhaps she should try one of Tony's suggestions. Delia seemed so cool, she would probably know what it meant.

Feeling a little foolish, Patsy turned to Delia and, as casually as possible, said 'Out of curiosity, what do you think of the name Harold?' 

Delia's brow immediately scrunched in confusion, 'Harold? I mean, it's fine, I guess. A little old fashioned. Why?' 

Delia looked so utterly baffled and Patsy panicked. Why on Earth had she listened to Tony? She rushed to recover. 

'Oh, I was just...thinking of getting a cat. And I thought that Harold might be a nice name.' 

Delia looked uncertain, 'Yes, I suppose it could be, though I've always thought it works best to get the pet first and then see what name fits.'

Patsy couldn't help smiling at that, 'But what do you call them before you’ve chosen a name?’ 

Delia shrugged, ‘I don’t know. Cat?’ 

Patsy laughed, ‘I suppose that makes an odd kind of sense.’ She decided to try one last time, but she found she just couldn’t bring herself to say ‘gal pals’. It sounded too juvenile. She settled for going halfway there, ‘And have you ever had any _pals_ that have had pets?’ 

‘Pals?’ Delia sounded puzzled. 

Patsy nodded. 

‘I mean, yeah, some of my friends have pets.’ 

Patsy sighed and tried to get out of this disaster of a conversation smoothly, ‘And do any of them have names that you particularly like?’ 

Delia looked a bit perplexed, but gamely listed a few names. Shortly after, she pointed at the clock, said she had to run to meet a friend, and wished Patsy luck in choosing a cat before ducking out the door. 

As soon as she’d left, Patsy released a long sigh and put her head despondently up against the espresso machine. Well _that_ had been a disaster. Either Delia wasn’t queer, wasn’t interested, or was as unaware of supposed ‘lesbian culture’ as Patsy was. All of which meant that Patsy had absolutely nothing to show for the horrifyingly embarrassing conversation she’d just engaged in. And, apparently, she was going to have to feign interest in a cat for the next several days. 

Picking her head up, she took solace in the fact that her to-do list for the evening consisted entirely of the world’s most cathartic activity. Trying to push thoughts of Delia to the back of her head, she grabbed a bucket and got to work. She had a whole shop to clean. 

 

________________________

 

Delia took out her phone the second she’d left Libby’s. What had _that_ been? Delia had daydreamed a bit...okay, maybe a lot...about Patsy, but had mentally placed her in her ‘unattainable’ box. Delia had spent what felt like most of her life pining over women who were either straight or unavailable, and all of that rejection it had taken its toll. She thought that Patsy was delightful and a joy to be around and stunningly beautiful, but she hadn’t really let herself hope that anything at all might come of her little crush. But…maybe she’d been dismissing the possibility too quickly? 

She jotted out a quick text to Mary as she walked. 

_SOS Mary…I need your help_

As soon as she sent it, she realized it had been a mistake. That text was going to give Mary Boyd an aneurism. Approximately two seconds later her phone rang, the voice on the other end sounding a bit panicked. 

‘Delia? Are you okay? Are you in a safe place?’

Delia felt a little foolish, ‘Yes, I’m fine. Sorry to scare you…that wasn’t the most sensitive text. It’s not a safety type emergency…it’s…well…it’s a girl type emergency.’ 

‘Oh thank goodness.’ Mary sounded audibly relieved, though her tone quickly shifted to curious, ‘Wait…a girl _emergency_? I didn’t even know there was a girl _possibility_. Have you been hiding things from us?’ 

‘Well…not really, I mean, I didn’t really know there was a girl possibility either. Maybe there was a girl _hope_ , but now…’ 

‘What happened?’ 

‘So, she’s the barista at the coffee shop I’ve been studying at, and we’ve been chatting and it’s been nice, but then today she gave me a piece of cake and then…well, I think she was pronoun fishing.’ 

‘Okay. That’s a good sign. What did she do when you used ‘she’?’ 

‘That’s the thing…I didn’t. I ‘them’ed the entire time.’

‘What? Why would you do that?’ 

‘Because I was caught off guard telling a story and I didn’t even think about it until after.’ 

‘But then why didn’t you just correct yourself once you realized?’ 

‘I would have, but then she started rambling about Harold and names for pets and there just wasn’t the opportunity. By the way, is Harold like a _thing_ I’m supposed to know? She said it like I was supposed to know what it was.’ 

‘Harold? I’ve never heard of it.’ 

‘Oh good. I was worried I’d missed something important. But yeah, there wasn’t the opportunity.’ 

‘I don’t know, Delia, it doesn’t really sound like you to not just _create_ the opportunity.’ Mary’s tone abruptly shifted to suspicious, ‘Wait…what are you wearing right now?’ 

‘What? Why?’ 

‘Humour me. You left work for the coffee shop wearing your scrubs. What are you wearing now?’ 

Delia felt a little defensive. She knew she’d been caught, ‘I don’t really see why that’s relevant.’ 

‘Hah! I knew it.’ Mary sounded exceedingly proud of herself, ‘You’re smitten.’ 

‘No I’m not!’ 

‘Yes you are…you went home and changed, didn’t you? I’ll bet you’re even wearing that polka dot top.’ 

Delia sighed in defeat, ‘Okay, fine. Maybe I’m a little smitten. But you should _see_ her, Mary. Anyone would be.’ 

‘So, that’s easy. Ask her out.’ 

‘What? No! That’s far too scary.’ 

‘ _You’re_ scared?’ 

‘She’s terrifyingly gorgeous, Mary!’

Mary chuckled on the other end of the phone. 

Delia felt the need to defend herself, ‘Anyway, I don’t even know if she’s queer. What if I make it weird and then don’t have a place to study for the next three days?’ 

‘You said she was pronoun fishing.’ 

‘No, I said I _thought_ she was pronoun fishing. And anyway, I failed that test miserably.’ 

‘It sounds like you’re making excuses.’ 

‘I’m an adult. I’m _allowed_ to make excuses to not have to do terrifying things.’ 

‘Well, I don’t really see any other way to approach things. If you’re interested, I think you’re going to have to make that clear. And the best way of doing that is asking.’ 

Delia furrowed her brow and huffed. Ugh. This was terrible. Why hadn’t she just used ‘she’? Then Patsy would know she was gay, and then the ball would be in Patsy’s court. Wait…maybe there was a way. 

‘Wait, don’t you and Allie have the day off tomorrow?’ 

Mary immediately sounded wary, ‘Yes. Why?’ 

‘You two should come down to Libby’s towards the end of the day and come sit with me. She’ll see me with you, and then she’ll know I’m at least super gay friendly, and then maybe she’ll ask me.’ 

‘Wouldn’t it be simpler if you just ask her?’ 

‘Simpler, yes, but _far_ scarier.’ 

‘Delia, you can’t just avoid the things that scare you.’ 

‘Not on my own, no. But with the help of friends I absolutely can.’ 

Mary sighed, ‘I don’t know Delia, I want to be supportive, but Allie’s been working nights, and I think she’ll just want a day in.’ 

‘But it’s not until the evening. And then I’ll buy you guys a round at the pub afterwards. Pleeeeeeease.’ 

‘Okay fine. But only because I’m incredibly curious what she looks like. I firmly don’t understand this little plan of yours. You should just tell her how you feel.’

‘I’m hearing your advice and I’m ignoring it. Thank you soooo much Mary. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.’ 

Delia hung up the phone and continued walking to her flat, a little skip in her step. Tomorrow Patsy would absolutely know that she was gay, and then Delia would just have to wait and see whether the enchanting redhead was, in fact, attainable.


	4. Friday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, a HUGE Thank You to Echo7 for trusting me to put my own spin on both Mary and Allie. If you haven't, you should really check out _There But For The Grace of God_. It's phenomenal.

Delia looked up and smiled when she heard Mary’s soft greeting. She’d just submitted her paper and was looking forward to a bit of a break before studying for her exam began in earnest tomorrow. 

‘Hello, Mary! It’s good to see you. Thanks so much for coming!’ She stood and wrapped her friend in a hug, taking the opportunity to glance over Mary’s shoulder in search of her girlfriend, ‘Where’s Allie?’ 

‘Oh, as I expected she just wanted a day in. She said she might meet up with us later at the pub.’ 

Delia’s face immediately fell as she plopped back down in her seat, ‘Oh no. You didn’t bring Allie? How could you not have brought Allie? This is really bad.’ 

Mary looked perplexed as she sat down opposite, ‘What? Why? Do you think if Allie’s not here, your barista crush won’t know I’m gay.’ 

Delia snorted as she eyed Mary in disbelief, ‘You’ve got short hair and you’re wearing a plaid flannel top and a beanie that says ‘Make the Yuletide Gay.’ You’re like a poster-child for lesbianism. She _definitely_ knows you’re gay.’ 

‘Then what’s the problem?’ 

‘Seriously? You’re obviously gay and coming to pick me up from the coffee shop on a Friday night.’ Delia gave her a hard look. 

Mary simply stared back blankly, ‘Sooo…she’s going to think we’re going for a drink?’ 

‘No, Mary, she’s going to think we’re _together_.’ 

Mary’s eyebrows shot up as she considered this information, ‘Really? Surely she wouldn’t think that, would she? Oh. I guess she might. Crap. That’s not good.’ 

Delia slouched down in her seat, ‘No, no it’s not…Ugh. What’s she doing right now? Is she looking over here? I can’t bring myself to look.’ 

‘Is she the redhead?’ Delia nodded. Mary craned her head remarkably unsubtly as she twisted in her seat to get a better view, ‘Umm…it looks like she’s hiding behind the espresso machine texting.’ 

Delia rolled her eyes, ‘Thank you for doing that reconnaissance in the _most obvious_ possible way.’ She began muttering to herself as she pulled out her phone and started texting, ‘This is such a total disaster.’ 

‘Who are you texting?’ Mary looked over curiously. 

‘Allie, of course. I need her to get here.’ 

‘But she’s having a lazy day in.’ 

‘No, she _was_ having a lazy day in. Trust me, she’s going to come.’ 

Mary sat and watched Delia text for a moment before finally sighing and declaring, ‘Well, while you do that, I’m going to go order a coffee.’ 

Delia’s eyes shot up, ‘ _Don’t_ tell her anything.’ 

‘Even if she asks if we’re together?’ 

‘She’s not going to ask if we’re together. Just…don’t say anything to make her think we might be.’ 

Mary looked a bit confused, but nodded before making her way to the counter. 

Delia turned her attention back to her phone.

_Hey Allie! Sorry to disturb your lazy day in, but I’m going to need you to come down to Libby’s ASAP._

The response was almost instant.

**Why? Is something wrong?**

_Sort of. The whole reason you were supposed to come is that I have a huge crush on the barista and I wanted her to know I was gay, but now Mary and I are just sitting here together…_

**Oh no.**

_Exactly._

**I’ll be there in ten minutes.**

Delia took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. It was going to be fine. Allie was on her way. She looked up at the clock. The shop closed in thirty minutes. Plenty of time. Suddenly her phone buzzed again. 

**Please don’t be too hard on Mary. You know she’s never been good at queer logistics. I’ll fix everything when I get there.**

Delia narrowed her eyes at the screen and then looked up at where Mary was standing shuffling from foot to foot at the counter. She sent up a small prayer that Mary wasn’t doing anything to make this situation any worse. 

**********

Patsy eyed the obviously gay woman who’d just come into the shop curiously. Her small round glasses had fogged up upon entering, and she stood by the door for a moment wiping them on a cloth she’d pulled from her jeans pocket. Patsy thought she looked rather nice, and offhandedly wondered if she’d changed something to encourage such a hip person to actually come into her little shop. Perhaps the holiday decorations Winifred had insisted on putting up in the window. 

Then she saw the smile that spread across the woman’s face as she spotted Delia, and her stomach immediately dropped. As she watched the woman greet Delia with a warm, knowing hug, her heart clenched and she began to feel a bit nauseous. In all of her overthinking, she’d managed to never even consider that Delia might already be in a relationship. _Of course_ someone as nice and engaging and charming and beautiful as Delia was in a relationship. God, she was such an idiot. 

She realized that Delia must have invited her girlfriend today because of Patsy’s awkward questions yesterday. Delia must have been worried she was sending the wrong signals, and wanted Patsy to know she was taken. Ugh. Why had Patsy even gotten her hopes up? This was terrible. She ducked behind the espresso machine and texted Trixie. 

_Well, Trixie, it’s official. I’m cursed from ever finding love and I’m going to die sad and alone._

**What’s happened? Did she say no?**

_No. Her girlfriend just showed up._

**Oh sweetie, I’m so sorry.**

**But you’re not going to die sad and alone. You’re going to die sad and with me.**

_I know you’re trying to make me feel better but…_

**You only have another half an hour, and then I’ll feed you cocktails and we can watch trash TV.**

_See, THAT actually makes me feel a little better._

She glanced up and examined Delia and her girlfriend. She was somewhat satisfied to see that Delia actually looked a bit peeved and was texting furiously on her phone. The girlfriend got up and started approaching the counter. Patsy slid her phone in her pocket and pasted on her best customer service smile. 

Patsy did a critical appraisal as she approached. She was…okay looking, Patsy supposed. She had a charming mop of short mildly unruly hair and her glasses fit her face perfectly, accentuating her blue eyes. Ugh. Who was Patsy kidding? She was adorable. And so height-appropriate for Delia compared to Patsy, who suddenly felt like a giant. 

The girlfriend approached with a slightly awkward smile and ordered a latte and a slice of cake. Patsy told her to wait there while she prepared her things. Normally, she’d have brought them out to the table, but she wasn’t going to go out of her way for Delia’s girlfriend. 

When she slid over the slice of cake she looked up and asked, ‘One fork or two?’ 

The girlfriend looked incredibly uncertain before stuttering, ‘Uhhhh…one?’ 

Patsy felt her eyes narrow. She wasn’t going to share her cake with Delia? That was _terrible_ girlfriend behaviour.

Patsy gave her a tight-lipped smile and placed one fork on the plate before turning to make the latte. Finally finishing, she handed over the coffee and watched hawkishly as the girlfriend made her way back to the table. She noticed with an incredible sense of vindication that Delia _also_ appeared upset about the lack of a second fork. She felt a little surge of victory as Delia reached forward and grabbed a bite of the cake. 

Patsy sidled back behind the espresso machine and grabbed her phone. 

_She doesn’t deserve her! She didn’t even get two forks!_

**Patsy, what on EARTH are you talking about?**

_The girlfriend. She ordered a cake and didn’t even get two forks to share it._

**Oh my god, Patsy, don’t do this thing again.**

_What thing? I don’t do a thing._

**Yes you do. Every time a girl you like starts dating someone you pick them apart and find every little flaw. You don’t even know this girl. Leave her alone.**

_Not sharing isn’t a LITTLE flaw_

**I want to thank you for these texts, Patsy. Now I’m fully prepared for how utterly impossible you’re going to be tonight.**

_ONE FORK, Trixie!_

Patsy slid her phone back in her pocket, feeling satisfied that she’d decisively won that particular argument. She began pretending to organize and clean things behind the counter while surreptitiously staring at the table where they sat. She needed to see what other terrible girlfriend behaviour was undoubtedly in store. 

*********

‘You got cake and only got one fork?’ Delia looked up in consternation as Mary returned. 

Mary looked a bit at a loss, ‘You said that I shouldn’t do anything that might make her think we’re together! Two forks felt like a togethery thing.’ 

Delia gave her a hard look for a moment and sighed, ‘I suppose you’re right. But I’m still going to steal a bite.’ She reached out and grabbed the fork, snagging a bite before Mary could protest. 

Having conceded the bite, Mary tried to make conversation, ‘Well, I must say, she’s beautiful, but a little…cold.’ Delia shot her a death glare and she quickly changed the subject, ‘So, is Allie on her way?’ 

Delia nodded, ‘She should be here in a few minutes.’ She began nervously tapping the table, ‘What is she doing now?’ 

Mary looked slightly more subtly this time, ‘She’s hiding behind the espresso machine texting again.’ 

Delia huffed anxiously and Mary calmly suggested that perhaps they discuss other topics until Allie arrived. Delia spent the next several minutes trying to remain calm while they chatted mindlessly about what music they’d been listening to and interesting cocktails they’d recently tried. 

Suddenly, the door to the shop burst open revealing a slightly dishevelled Allie. She gave a quick glance over towards Patsy before making her way determinedly towards their table. She plopped down into the seat next to Mary and shuffled off her coat, ‘I got here as quickly as I could and I must say if we’re talking about the redhead then Delia, you have impeccable taste.’ 

A relieved smile crept across Delia’s features, ‘Thanks. And thank God you’re here.’

Allie pulled off her beanie and eyed Delia, her green eyes sparkling with mischief, ‘Now, is she looking this way?’ 

Delia risked a glance, ‘Yes, why?’ 

In lieu of a response, Allie turned and grabbed Mary’s face with both hands, pulling her into a deep kiss. Delia tried her best not to stare. Well, she supposed that _was_ one way of clearing up the misunderstanding. After a few long moments, Delia realized that her friends hadn’t yet stopped kissing. She glanced around nervously for a moment before kicking them under the table, ‘Okay, you two. I think you’ve made the nature of your relationship perfectly clear.’ 

They broke apart and stared at each other for a moment before breaking out into a fit of giggles. Mary had turned a particularly rosy shade of red. Once she had pulled herself back together, Allie draped an arm around Mary and turned to Delia, looking triumphant, ‘There, I think that should clear up any confusion.’ 

‘Yes, thank you. That was truly a heroic display.’ 

Allie shrugged and shot Mary a little smirk, ‘We do what we can.’ She leaned forward, looking eagerly at Delia, ‘OK, so she knows we’re gay and not with you. What’s the next step of this little plan?’ 

*******

Patsy almost jumped out of her skin when the door slammed open and a tremendously tall blonde came bursting into the shop. Though a little shocked by her entrance, Patsy immediately felt a bit of affinity for the woman. Tall women had to stick together, and this woman was even taller than Patsy. 

Her curiosity grew as the blonde stalked across the shop and sat down at the table with Delia and her girlfriend. Delia looked so happy to see her that it made Patsy like her even more. Then suddenly, the woman turned to Delia’s girlfriend and…oh. Ooooohhh. Patsy felt an overwhelming surge of relief and happiness. This was amazing. Not only was that _not_ Delia’s girlfriend, but Delia had queer friends. Queer friends that she had invited here. While she couldn’t be 100% sure, Patsy was fairly convinced that their presence here today after yesterday’s awkwardness wasn’t accidental. 

She grabbed her phone. 

_Make them celebratory cocktails, Trix!_

**What…did she come back and ask for another fork?**

_Even better, the girlfriend’s ACTUAL girlfriend just showed up._

**How do you know it’s her actual girlfriend?**

_Because they just got finished snogging_

**IN Libby’s? Well, that little coffee shop of yours just got much more interesting. And yes, that feels fairly definitive.**

**So, are you going to ask her out now?**

_For crying out loud, Trixie. Let me have this moment!_

Patsy slid her phone back in her pocket and sighed deeply, basking in the glow of renewed hope. 

*********

‘And now your plan is to wait and let her make the first move?!?!’ Allie looked horrified, ‘Delia, that’s a _terrible_ plan. In fact, it’s not even a plan. It’s a _lack_ of a plan.’ 

‘Well…’ 

‘Hold on, I’m going to need coffee to be able to stomach the excuses I’m about to hear.’ She hopped up and walked to the counter. 

When she returned empty handed, Mary asked, ‘Where’s your coffee?’ 

Allie re-took her seat, ‘She said she’d bring it out to the table.’

‘What? She made me stand and wait for mine.’ Mary sounded a bit hurt. 

Allie shrugged, ‘She probably thought you were Delia’s girlfriend at that point so I think that may actually be a good sign.’ She turned back to Delia, ‘Now, tell me everything that’s happened so far.’ 

Delia relayed the entire story, Mary and Allie listening with rapt attention. The conversation paused when Patsy brought a coffee and croissant to the table, beaming elatedly at all three of them, before returning to the counter. Once the story was finished, Allie took a deep breath and looked appraisingly at Delia for several long moments.

‘And you haven’t asked her out because…?’ 

‘Well…I don’t even know if she’s queer.’ 

Mary made a snorting noise, ‘Oh, she’s _absolutely_ gay.’ 

Delia cocked her head to the side, ‘How do you know?’ 

‘Oh, I would believe her. Mary’s got absolutely _phenomenal_ gaydar.’ 

Mary smiled at her girlfriend, ‘Thanks, but actually, this time I didn’t even need phenomenal gaydar. You guys should see how astoundingly differently she’s treating me compared to before. Not only is she gay, but she’s absolutely 100% into you.’ 

‘Really? Are you sure?’ Delia couldn’t hide the excitement from her voice. 

‘Yup’ Mary nodded authoritatively. 

Allie beamed across at Delia, ‘See? She’s totally into you. You should ask her if she wants to hang out.’ 

Delia suddenly looked uncertain, ‘I don’t know. That still feels scary. Can’t we just wait a day and try my plan?’ 

‘Why not ask now?’ 

Delia looked down and ran her finger along the table, picking at a little groove in the wood, ‘Well…it’s just that today’s already been a bit of an emotional roller coaster, and you guys are here and it’d be a bit embarrassing to ask her in front of you, and I need to time to think about what I’m going to say…’ 

Allie rolled her eyes, ‘Good Lord, Delia, you are absolutely _impossible_.’ 

Mary turned and put her hand on Allie’s arm, ‘Wait, Allie, I don’t think I could have asked _you_ out if there was someone looking over my shoulder. Let her wait until tomorrow. Let’s go to the pub now.’ 

‘That’s a _great_ idea, let’s go do that.’ Delia jumped out of her seat. 

‘I can’t believe you’re enabling her,’ Allie grumbled before being mollified by a peck on the cheek. 

They bundled up and called out their farewells to Patsy. They’d gotten a few steps down the street when Allie suddenly declared that she should really use the loo before the walk to the pub and turned back. Mary and Delia waited, bouncing a bit to keep warm in the cold, for several minutes before Allie re-appeared and they headed off to the pub. 

*********

Patsy couldn’t help the beaming smile that crept across her face as she watched the blonde exit the shop for the second time. She turned the taller woman’s words over and over in her head. Tomorrow. Tomorrow was going to be the day, and now thanks to Delia’s friend, Patsy was more prepared than ever.


	5. Saturday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a bit of a bout with food poisoning prevented me from doing the writing I was planning on yesterday, so now I'm going to be a day behind. I'm feeling totally back to normal now and ready to get this ship sailing once again. :) Thanks for your patience!

Delia was thoroughly enjoying being in the shop on a Saturday. The weekend brought in a more sociable clientele and the feeling of being in a place that buzzed with life actually helped keep her mind from wandering.

The entire day had also been filled with the fizzy excitement of expectation. Patsy had been perfectly friendly when she’d arrived, but she hoped that, at the end of the day, when she and Patsy had their customary chat, perhaps the redhead would make some sort of move. If not, Delia had decided that she’d take the leap. Especially after Mary’s continued assurances yesterday that Patsy was, indeed, _extremely_ interested. 

Despite her anticipation, however, she’d once again remained unbelievably focused, managing to create study outlines for four full units. She had a lot more work to do before she’d feel ready for her exam, but still, she was making excellent progress. 

She was about to stand to ask for a re-steep for her tea when she looked up to see Patsy approaching carrying a mug mounded with whipped cream. She glanced around, wondering if someone had come to sit near her recently. 

Patsy came to a halt in front of her table, looking mildly nervous. When she spoke, her voice warbled ever so slightly, ‘So, I have a bit of a problem and I was hoping you might be able to help.’ 

Delia furrowed her brow, hoping nothing too stressful was happening, ‘I’d be happy to do whatever I can.’ 

‘Well, someone came in and ordered a mocha latte with a dash of peppermint syrup and whipped cream on top, but then they decided they didn’t want it, and…well…it seemed a shame for such a delicious-sounding drink to go to waste.’

A little bubble of excitement nestled in Delia’s stomach. Raising one eyebrow, she strove to play it cool, though she knew a smile was creeping across her face, ‘Someone came and ordered that exact drink, did they?’

Patsy nodded solemnly. 

Delia shrugged and feigned nonchalance, ‘Well, I suppose I could be talked into making a sacrifice and drinking it. Though you’d owe me a favour.’ 

Patsy smiled, ‘Duly noted.’ As she leaned over to place the drink down on the table she murmured ‘Enjoy’ with a tone that made Delia stomach do a little flip. 

Delia beamed back, ‘Thank you. I’m sure I will.’ 

As she watched Patsy walk away, she strove to contain her excitement. It appeared that she hadn’t had to wait until after closing for Patsy to make a move. Though she noted that the redhead had been armed with the _highly_ specific knowledge of her favourite drink when she wanted to treat herself. She pulled out her phone. 

_Allie, what did you do?_

**;-)**

_We’ll be talking about this later, once I’ve decided whether you’re getting a Thank You or a bollocking for interfering._

**You’re welcome.**

She rolled her eyes and went back to studying. 

Several hours passed as she sipped her treat and outlined several more units. Then, as she was deep in concentration, she heard the soft clink of ceramic hitting the table and looked up to see Patsy sliding a milky mug of coffee and a plate containing a chocolate-frosted éclair onto it. 

Delia asked playfully, ‘Did an éclair and coffee also need to be saved from going to waste?’

‘No. This one’s just because I thought you might be getting a bit peckish.’ 

Delia beamed up at her for a moment before her brow furrowed, ‘Are you sure this isn’t going to get you into trouble with the owner?’ 

Patsy chuckled lightly, ‘I think I’ll be fine.’ She shot Delia a shy smile before bustling back behind the counter. 

Delia enjoyed the happy bubbling of anticipation that coursed through her. As she took a bite, she allowed her mind to wander a bit to think about the potential benefits of dating someone who worked at a bakery. She imagined a future snuggled on the couch watching Netflix and eating freshly baked pastries. She pulled out her phone.

 _OK, so my favourite drink and pastry. Anything else I should be expecting?_

**You’ll just have to wait and see.**

_If she declares we’re going for fish & chips and then to see an old movie, I’m disowning you._

**Please, Delia. She has to put in SOME effort into unravelling your secrets.**

Delia smirked down at the phone and then got back to work. 

When the time finally came for the shop to close, Delia began packing up, pleased with her astounding progress today. Her units were outlined, now it was just a matter of loads of memorisation. Her work done for the moment, Delia’s mind began to wander to the impending conversation. Her fingers tingled with excitement. 

Then her phone buzzed next to her. She looked down and noticed that it was a text from Mary. She opened it. 

**Hey! Did you know that Patsy actually owns Libby’s?**

Delia froze. What? She might be dating someone who _owned_ a bakery? She was definitely going to need to get a gym membership. 

_Where did you hear that?_

**Allie saw it on the Libby’s website.**

For a brief moment Delia wondered what on earth Allie was doing on the coffee shop’s website. Suddenly, she remembered the conversation from two days ago when she’d disparaged the owner as a hard-ass. Oh no. 

_Thanks for letting me know. I’ve gotta go._

She slid her phone into her pocket and sighed. Glancing over towards the counter, she saw Patsy smiling to herself as she wiped down the surface. God, she was _so_ beautiful. She looked around and noticed that the rest of the shop had cleared out. Okay, Delia thought to herself, she’d go over there, apologize for having been an ass before, and then…well…she’d see what happened.

 

____________________ 

 

Patsy was _exceedingly_ proud of herself. She’d managed to deliver Delia’s two treats without once ever stuttering or making a fool of herself. She’d almost been… _smooth_. And she had the coming conversation all planned out in her head. A light and somewhat leading starting question, just to get things flowing, and then she’d just come right out and ask if Delia wanted to go out sometime. She was going to be calm and confident. It was going to be perfect. 

She looked up and saw Delia approached the counter. She smiled and stood up straight, ‘So, did your studying go well today?’

Delia nodded, a soft smile on her lips. 

Patsy launched her question, ‘Good. It looks like it’s gotten quite blustery outside. I hope you don’t have too far to go to get home?’ It came out so smoothly. Well done, Patience. 

‘Oh, not to worry. I’m not far at all. Just a few minutes walk. How about you?’ 

‘I actually live right above the shop. There’s a four-bedroom flat on the two floors above us. There’s four of us up there.’ She pointed back behind her, ‘There’s actually an entrance through the kitchen, so I don’t even have to go outdoors.’

‘That’s certainly handy.’ 

Patsy noticed that Delia looked just the slightest bit subdued. It made her a little nervous, but she couldn’t let herself falter now. It was time to ask. She took a deep breath, but then they started talking at the exact same time.

‘Delia, I was wonder –’ 

‘Patsy, I wanted –’

They both stopped and chuckled nervously. Patsy gestured towards Delia, ‘Please, go ahead.’ 

Delia looked down, lightly kicking the floor with her toe, ‘Look, Patsy, I just wanted to apologize.’ 

Patsy’s heart clenched. What? Why was Delia apologizing? Was she _not_ interested? Had Patsy misread the situation _that_ badly? 

The brunette continued, ‘Before, when I talked about the owner being…well…a bit of a hard-ass. I didn’t actually know that the owner was you. I’m sorry.’ 

Patsy felt a palpable sense of relief, ‘Oh gosh. Please, don’t worry _at all_. I know I run a tight ship. I wasn’t bothered in the slightest.’ 

‘And I didn’t get Winifred in trouble did I?’ 

Patsy smiled and shook her head, ‘No, Winifred and I have our little tête-à-têtes, but she’s an excellent head baker and sometime barista. We just had a brief discussion about how wasting seventy pounds worth of flour on ten attempts at harvest loaves was a different resource-misuse issue than not giving a customer milk with their tea.’ 

Delia smiled, looking lively once again, ‘Well good. That makes me feel better. Now, what was it you were going to say?’ 

Patsy was caught off guard. She’d been so confident, in such a flow. But then Delia had panicked and relieved her in such a short period of time and now she felt…off-kilter. Her words came out awkward and stuttered, ‘What I was going to say was…well, actually what I _am_ going to say, that is, is that I was wondering…if maybe sometime you’d like to–’

‘Hello? Patsy?’ Suddenly Barbara’s voice called out from the back as the door to the flat banged open, cutting Patsy off, ‘Cynthia and I were wondering if you had any of those little biscuits with the orange zest in them left?’ The brunette popped out of the kitchen, ‘Oh…sorry. I didn’t know anyone else was still here.’ 

Patsy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, hoping Barbara would read the situation and come back later, but when she opened them her flatmate was still standing there smiling and looking back and forth between them expectantly. 

Patsy sighed. Why did Barbara have to be so personable? She turned and gestured between them, ‘Delia, this is my flatmate Barbara. Barbara, this is Delia.’ 

Barbara beamed at the shorter woman, ‘Oh, Delia. It’s wonderful to put a face to a name. I’ve heard _so_ much about you.’ 

Oh God no. 

Barbara looked quizzically for a moment at Patsy’s horrified face, then a look of mortified realization spread over her own. Patsy silently willed the brunette to simply leave, but sadly it appeared she wasn’t that lucky. 

‘I mean, it’s not that she’s talked an _unusual_ amount about you. Just a bit, you know. A normal amount.’ Her brow furrowed ‘Not that normally she spends all of her time talking about her customers. She rarely does, really, but sometimes she does and then you’ve…come up.’ She came to an awkward halt and looked apologetically towards Patsy. 

Patsy wished that the floor would open up and swallow her whole. As soon as Barbara stopped rambling, she jumped in, ‘Yes, well, now that you’ve met…Barbara, here are some biscuits.’ She reached into the case and pulled out the entire remaining tray, thrusting it into Barbara’s arms before ushering her back into the kitchen, ‘And now why don’t you go up and make some tea to accompany them? I’ll be up to join you in just a moment.’ 

As she watched Barbara’s retreating back, she took a deep breath. She had to try to fix this. She turned and made her way back to Delia, looking down at the floor. She couldn’t even bring herself to look up as she mumbled, ‘Ummmmm…about that –’

Delia’s soft voice cut her off, ‘I’d love to.’

‘What?’ Patsy’s eyes shot up to meet Delia’s, which were twinkling with amusement. 

‘Before. When you asked if sometime I’d like to. Well…I’d love to.’ 

‘Really?’ 

Delia nodded. 

Patsy knew there was a gigantic, stupid grin spreading across her face, ‘Well that’s…that’s wonderful.’ 

They just stood there beaming at each other for several long moments before Delia finally leaned forward slightly, ‘Did you want to…ummmm…set a time or just, like, exchange numbers?’ 

Patsy shook her head slightly, rousing herself from her happy stupor, ‘Oh. Right. Well…maybe both?’ 

They exchanged phones and entered each other’s numbers. When they handed them back, Patsy threw out a suggestion, ‘So…maybe Tuesday? When your exams are over?’ 

Delia shook her head, ‘I leave Tuesday morning for Wales.’ 

‘And when do you get back?’ 

‘I’m actually there through the new year.’ 

‘Oh.’ Patsy felt herself deflate a bit, ‘I leave with my flatmate Trixie on January 1st for a week in Paris.’ 

‘Paris?’ 

Patsy nodded, ‘She’s been pestering me for a girls trip for years.’ She pulled up the calendar on her phone, ‘Ummm…let’s see. We get back on the 9th. Do you want to –’

‘Tomorrow.’ Delia cut her off. 

‘Excuse me?’ Patsy was a bit taken aback. 

Delia smiled up at her, ‘Tomorrow. Let’s do tomorrow. After the shop closes?’ 

‘Are you sure? You don’t have to study?’ 

‘I can study in the afternoon. I don’t want to wait until January 9th.’ 

‘Oh.’ Patsy felt a little blush creeping up into her cheeks, ‘Okay then. Tomorrow. It’s a date.’ 

______________

 

Delia took a deep breath as she exited the shop. She felt like she was going to bubble over with excitement. She had a date. With Patsy. 

As she made her way home, it fully dawned on her that she’d just scheduled a date for the most stressful possible time. She had a _massive_ exam on Monday. She’d just finished her outlines. There was still _so much_ to do. Originally she’d just planned on studying from now until the end of time. 

And yet, she simply couldn’t manage to be truly cross with herself. The studying would get done. And then…well, she had a _date_. With _Patsy_. She couldn’t stop the beaming smile that spread across her face. Tomorrow. Tomorrow was going to be the day, and she couldn’t wait.


	6. Sunday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still here! :) I'm now fully off-schedule, but never fear, Hannukah in the real world may have come and gone, but for Patsy and Delia, it's still Sunday, and there are still two days of Hannukah left. Enjoy!

Delia sat at her table at Libby’s vacillating between fizzing excitement and panic-inducing stress. The hour of her date was rapidly approaching, and she wasn’t as far along in her studying as she wanted to be. The problem, really, had been that she just couldn’t seem to study anywhere but Libby’s. She’d returned home last night hoping to get a few hours of work in before bed, but instead she’d found herself reorganizing her closet.

Her afternoon at Libby’s had once again been extremely productive, but it never seemed like there was enough time. She sighed as she looked at the papers laid out on the table before her. She _knew_ she knew this stuff, but she just needed more time to feel fully confident. 

And yet…she couldn’t feel too terribly stressed because in the back of her head, a joyous little voice kept reminding her that soon she was getting to go on a date. Just her and Patsy. Together. On a _date_. She smiled to herself as she looked up for a moment to watch the redhead carry a tray of coffee out to a table. She bopped up and down slightly in her seat, trying to release some of her nervous excitement. 

Last night, they’d decided that they’d split the responsibility for first-date planning, with Delia organizing the first half and Patsy the second. Delia had wracked her brain for an activity that would be low-key, mildly but not overwhelmingly romantic, and, she was somewhat ashamed to admit, inexpensive. Deep down, she knew that Patsy deserved to have all of the money in the world spent on her, but Delia simply didn’t _have_ all the money in the world, so she’d have to make do. After some brainstorming with Val, she thought she’d found an activity that was the perfect combination of lightly romantic and free. She’d been struggling to contain her excitement all day. Shaking her head, she reminded herself to get back to work. She wanted to be able to give her full attention to Patsy tonight, and that meant studying now.

A few minutes before the shop was due to close, Delia was disturbed from her studying by Patsy’s timid, mildly nervous voice, ‘Hello?’ Delia looked up to see the redhead adorably shuffling from foot to foot in front of her, ‘Sorry to disturb you, but I just wanted to let you know that once the shop is closed I’m going to bop upstairs to change out of my work clothes. You’re welcome to come up and wait in the living room if you’d like, or you can stay down here and keep working. It’s up to you.’ 

Delia looked at the pile of papers before her, ‘If it’s alright with you, I think I’ll stay down here and keep working while you get ready.’ 

Patsy nodded, ‘That’s just fine. Speaking of getting ready, is there anything in particular that I should wear or be prepared for?’ 

Delia smiled, ‘Just be bundled up for warmth and wear shoes that are comfortable for walking.’

Patsy looked a bit curious but nodded. Suddenly Delia realized that she hadn’t even thought about what she might need to wear for Patsy’s part of the date.

‘Oh gosh, I suppose I should ask you the same thing. Is there anything that I need to be prepared for? I can always run back to my flat and change.’ 

The redhead responded instantly, ‘Oh no. You look absolutely _perfect_.’ As soon as she said it, a momentary panic flashed across Patsy’s face as she looked down at the floor and flushed a deep shade of red. 

Delia could feel herself flushing as well, ‘Thank you.’

Patsy gave a brief little nod and whirled around, skittering back to the counter. Delia smiled as she watched Patsy pick up a rag and begin rather aggressively wiping down the espresso machine. She wondered offhandedly if Patsy always calmed herself by cleaning things. That would be a fairly adorable trait. 

A short time later, once the shop had closed and Patsy had everything cleaned up, the redhead called out that she was going to go up and change. She took a step towards the back before calling back, ‘Oh, and once she finds out you’re here alone, I’m not going to be able to stop Trixie from coming down. I’d be prepared for a flimsy excuse for her presence followed by a barrage of odd questions. She gets rather defensive of her flatmates. Please don’t be intimidated. She’s largely harmless.’

Delia smiled, ‘Thanks for the warning, I’m sure I’ll be fine.’

Patsy had been gone for around ten minutes when suddenly Delia heard a door in the back bang open and a voice calling out, ‘Oh no, don’t worry Barbara, I don’t mind checking at all. You want one with chocolate in it, right?’ A blonde bustled into the shop through the kitchen, turning to Delia with a look of comically false surprise, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know anyone was here. I just came down to see if there were any more chocolate biscuits for Barbara. You must be Delia. I’m Trixie.’ She approached and sat down opposite Delia without waiting for an invitation. 

Delia had to control her urge to chuckle, ‘I’m afraid it’s going to be difficult for you to get biscuits for Barbara. The donation van’s already come.’ 

‘Has it? Oh no. Barbara’s going to be _so_ disappointed.’ Trixie shifted to look at Delia’s papers, ‘And what are you working on here? Studying for an exam? So you’re a student?’

Delia suppressed a smile. A first date seemed a bit early for a friend interrogation, but she supposed this was an unusual ‘first date’. And anyway, it meant Patsy had talked about her enough that Trixie felt the need to investigate. 

‘Sort of. I’m doing graduate work part time and working part time as a nurse.’ 

‘You weren’t happy with regular nursing?’ 

‘Oh no. I just wanted to…learn more, I suppose. Maybe to work up to being a Nurse Consultant after I have more experience. But mostly I just missed school.’ 

Trixie nodded seeming satisfied, ‘Excellent. Now, I have a few additional questions for you. First, do you have any small children in your life?’ 

Delia was a bit taken aback, ‘Umm…I have a few young cousins.’ 

‘Good. Now, if you were out with Patsy while looking after your cousin, and this cousin got sick all over your car, would you clean it up or would you make Patsy?’ 

Wow, Patsy hadn’t been kidding about the odd questions. Was this based on a date Trixie had gone on? 

‘Well, I don’t have a car, but, hypothetically, I’d clean it up. It’s my cousin and my car.’ 

Trixie looked pleased, ‘And now, if you were out with Patsy driving in your hypothetical car in the countryside with your young cousin in the back and it broke down and your cell phone was dead and there had been a farmhouse a few miles back, would you walk back to the farmhouse to ask to use their phone, or would you make Patsy?’ 

Delia furrowed her brow. Who on _earth_ was Trixie going on dates with? 

‘The cousin is _on_ the date?’ 

Trixie nodded. 

‘Ummm…what’s the cousin doing? Now that the car’s broken down?’

‘Playing happily in the woods on the side of the road.’ 

‘Hmmm…well, first of all, I’d never go on a date in the countryside with a dead cell phone _or_ with my cousin. But, hypothetically, I’d walk to the farmhouse. Unless it was a lovely day. Then maybe we could all walk together. And I’d carry my cousin when he got tired.’ 

Apparently Delia had passed whatever baffling test the blonde had been administering, because Trixie gave a satisfied nod and moved to stand up, ‘Well, it was wonderful to meet you Delia. I hope you have a lovely evening.’ 

Delia saw an opportunity, ‘Wait a moment.’ Trixie paused and looked at her questioningly. Delia continued, ‘You’ve had a chance to ask a few questions. Now it’s my turn.’ 

 

_______________

 

Patsy took a deep breath and looked at herself one more time in the mirror before heading down the stairs. Trixie had returned from her interrogation looking unbelievably pleased, which honestly made Patsy a bit nervous. She knew Trixie had a mischievous streak, and wondered what the two of them could have gotten up to. 

When she reached the shop, she saw Delia look up and give a slight gasp. Patsy flushed with pleasure. Apparently the twenty minutes she’d spent making herself look presentable had been worth it. 

‘Well, now I feel like I _should_ go home and spruce up. You’re putting me to shame, Patsy.’ 

Patsy blushed, ‘Nonsense. You look absolutely lovely.’ 

They stared at each other giddily for a moment before Delia stood and began gathering her things. They decided that Delia could simply leave her satchel in the shop to pick up after the date was over. Delia bundled up and they headed out.

As soon as they left the shop, Patsy realized that she had absolutely no idea how to interact physically with Delia. She’d never gone on a first date that involved walking. Was she supposed to hold her hand? Link elbows? She settled for walking kind-of-but-not-too-close to Delia and trying to appear relaxed despite the fact that she felt like a walking ball of nerves. 

This uncertainty added to her already raging anxiety about having no idea where they were going or what they were doing. On the whole, Patsy deeply distrusted surprises, and she was currently regretting her decision to not force Delia to disclose the agenda for her part of their date. She took a deep breath and reminded herself to stay calm. 

They boarded a bus, Delia insisting on paying both fares, and Patsy took a seat next to her, enjoying the opportunity for slight physical contact. Delia thankfully kept chatting to a minimum, given that they were on public transport, and Patsy was struck by how nice it was to just…sit with Delia. The brunette just radiated a happy, calming energy that made Patsy feel much more at ease. 

After fifteen minutes or so, Delia indicated they should get off, and they alighted onto a street near the docks. Looking around, Patsy was wondering where they were headed when she felt Delia’s arm slide into the crook of her elbow. She glanced down in a bit of shock to see Delia smiling uncertainly up at her. 

‘Is this alright? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.’ 

Patsy shook her head, ‘No…I mean, yes, it’s fine. I’m not uncomfortable.’ 

Delia nodded happily and pulled Patsy along as they made their way down the street. Patsy was basking in the glow of holding Delia’s arm close. It made her feel warm and tingly. 

Suddenly, Delia turned down a side street and walked them down a ways to a little window. She turned and faced Patsy, a nervous but excited glint in her eye, ‘This is our first stop: dinner!’ 

Patsy eyed the window sceptically before seeing the small sign, ‘Fish and chips?’

Delia nodded happily, ‘This is the place I was telling you about. The one that uses real marrowfat peas to make their mushy peas. It’s really amazing how much you can taste the difference.’ 

Patsy beamed down, ‘It sounds wonderful.’ 

Delia smiled happily back and ordered two. They chatted a bit about their preferred toppings for their chips as they waited for their meals to be prepared. Patsy could feel her tension ebbing slowly away as they poked fun at each other’s choices. Once their meals were prepared, Delia took the bag, re-took Patsy’s arm and steered them back towards the docks. 

They chatted a bit about Delia’s plans for when she was in Wales and what Patsy and Trixie planned to do in Paris. As they reached the street that ran along the water, Patsy looked ahead and immediately realized where they were headed. A large section of the docks ahead had been lavishly decorated with a multitude of twinkling lights. Delia had brought her to a Christmas light display. 

Glancing down, she saw Delia looking up at her with a combination of nervousness and excitement. She smiled back at her. Looking up Patsy froze as she saw the big banner hanging over the entry declaring this year’s theme. 

 

*******

 

Delia couldn’t believe it. Mistletoe? Bloody _Mistletoe_?!?! 

She had known there was a problem when she’d felt Patsy tense and then she’d looked up and seen the sign. _Welcome to the Magical Mistletoe Forest_. Goddammit. She’d _just_ gotten Patsy to stop being so nervous, and now all of the redhead’s tension was back. She’d been aiming for subtly romantic, not ‘I’m taking you on a first date to a bloody mistletoe snog-forest.’ Shit. Shit shit shit. She needed to fix this. 

‘Patsy, I swear, I didn’t know the theme this year. I just heard there was a light display here.’ Patsy still looked a little panicked, so Delia gave her arm a little squeeze. Patsy looked down into Delia’s eyes, and Delia tried to relay her sincerity, ‘My only thought was that it might be nice to take a stroll through the lights. And eat our suppers, of course. I’ve just always thought that Christmas lights were a bit…magical. That’s all. There’s no pressure with the whole mistletoe thing.’

Delia felt her heart skip a beat as she watched Patsy’s eyes soften. The redhead took a deep breath, shot an appraising look over the spectacle before them, and turned back to Delia, a soft smile gracing her lips, ‘I’d love to stroll through the lights with you.’

They meandered and chatted for a bit before finding a bench underneath a patio heater and away from any mistletoe decor. Delia handed Patsy her supper. They talked as they ate, about why Delia had chosen nursing and why she’d gone back to school, about whether colourful or all-white lights were superior, about their favourite Netflix shows. It was astounding how easy it was to chat with Patsy.

Delia sighed contentedly as she finished the last of her fish. Sneaking a glance across at Patsy, she noticed how much calmer she seemed. She mentally patted herself on the back for recovering so well from the Mistletoe fiasco. The walking and the chatting and the holding Patsy’s arm. All of it had been absolutely lovely. She just hoped that Patsy was having as good a time as she was. 

 

*********

 

Patsy watched as Delia gathered up their trash and tossed it in a nearby bin. They stood, linked arms, and began to slowly stroll once again. Patsy nestled close into Delia’s side. 

She took in the twinkling display around her. She had honestly never really been all that enthused about Christmas lights, but watching the excited twinkle in Delia’s eyes as she took in the displays, Patsy’s heart skipped a beat. Delia’s enthusiasm was contagious. She supposed the lights were a bit magical, though she suspected much of that sentiment was a result of her company. Patsy basked in the realization that there was no place she’d rather be than meandering the docks surrounded by a bunch of ostentatious lights with Delia on her arm. 

True to her word, Delia didn’t make any leading remarks or change her physical demeanour around any of the mistletoe displays, and Patsy felt herself fully relax as they made their way further and further into the ‘forest’. Chatting with Delia was so lovely and smooth and _easy_. Patsy couldn’t remember the last time being with someone had felt so effortless. 

When they’d finally made their way through the entire display, they both stopped and took in the lights behind them. Patsy gave Delia’s arm a little squeeze, ‘Thank you, Delia. That was lovely.’ 

Delia beamed up at her, ‘Thank _you_ , for being patient and joining me, even though the theme was a bit…treacherous.’ 

Patsy laughed, ‘As it turned out, you were the consummate gentlewoman.’ 

Delia stepped back and gave a charming little bow. Glancing at the time on her phone, Delia suddenly looked concerned, ‘Oh my gosh, I had no idea it was so late. I’m sorry my part of the date used up so much time. I hope it didn’t screw up any of your plans.’ 

Patsy smiled and shook her head, ‘No, if my plan needed specific timing, I would have been keeping an eye on it. Are you ready for me to take over?’ 

‘I’m all yours.’ 

 

_______________

 

Delia noticed with frustration that a little ball of stress had nestled itself into her stomach. She’d had no idea it was so late. She still had a few hours of studying she had to do to feel completely ready for tomorrow, and now she still had an entire second half of a date this evening. A date that she was _thoroughly_ enjoying and didn’t want to end. The dichotomy of her feelings was making her stomach hurt.

Looking out the window of the cab that Patsy had hailed, she took a deep breath and told herself to stop worrying and simply enjoy Patsy’s presence. Tentatively, she reached out and took Patsy’s hand. The redhead threaded her fingers through Delia’s and gave her hand a little squeeze. All of Delia’s stress melted away and she allowed the thrumming of her curiosity and excitement about where they were going to course through her. 

When they pulled up outside of Libby’s, Delia couldn’t hide her surprise, ‘Are we stopping here to pick something up?’

Patsy simply smiled and helped Delia out of the back of the cab, ‘Come on. I’ll explain in a moment.’ 

Patsy unlocked the door and they entered the enveloping warmth of the shop. The redhead turned and faced Delia, taking both of the brunette’s hands in hers. She took a deep, calming breath, ‘Delia, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed our date so far. Talking to you, being with you is…well…it’s absolutely wonderful. And I know that I personally would like to keep talking to you all night. But I _also_ know that you have a big exam tomorrow that you _must_ be getting stressed about. And I know that you haven’t been able to study well at home. So…my half of the date is a study date. Right here, in Libby’s. You’re going to sit and study and I’m going to make you a mocha and then curl up in my favourite armchair next to you with a book.’ 

‘But Patsy…’

‘No buts. I let you take me to a mistletoe forest on our first date, and now you’re going to let me take you here.’ 

‘It doesn’t sound like very much fun for you.’ 

‘First of all, I work here all day wishing I could snuggle into that armchair and read, but I never get to. And second, I get to spend the rest of the evening being next to you. That sounds just fine to me.’

Delia felt a wave of relief wash over her, ‘Thank you Patsy, I…’ Delia suddenly felt a bit as a loss for words as tears sprung into her eyes, ‘…this really is incredibly thoughtful.’ 

Patsy smiled and gave Delia’s hands a little squeeze, ‘It’s my pleasure.’ 

Patsy began to release her grip on Delia’s hands, but the brunette held tight for a moment, looking up into Patsy’s sparkling blue eyes, ‘For the record, I think being with you is absolutely wonderful too.’ 

Patsy looked down bashfully with a pleased smile before pointing Delia towards her table, ‘Why don’t you go get settled?’ 

While Delia grabbed her satchel and arranged her papers on her usual table, Patsy made her a mocha, dragged one of the old armchairs so that it was facing Delia’s table, and plopped down into it with a worn paperback. 

Delia settled into studying, finding that Patsy’s presence was less distracting than she’d feared. She made steady progress through her outlines, feeling more and more secure in her knowledge. As the evening went on, however, she found that sometimes her eyes would wander to just stare at Patsy, watching her eyes scanning the pages, her hand absentmindedly twirling a lock of red hair around her finger, the line of her long legs curled up in the chair. 

Suddenly she was jolted from her observations by Patsy’s amused voice, ‘If you keep staring, I’m going to turn this chair around so that I don’t distract you.’ 

Delia blushed, ‘I’m not staring…I’m just…looking in your direction as I try to recall information.’ 

Patsy eyed her suspiciously for a moment before snapping her book closed and sitting up in her chair, ‘Come on then. Staring into space with your notes in front of you isn’t as effective as being quizzed. Give me your outlines. I’ll ask you questions.’ 

‘Are you sure?’ 

Patsy nodded and held out her hand, taking the papers from Delia and scooting her chair up to the table. Her long legs rested gently against Delia’s calves, sending a swarm of butterflies through Delia’s stomach. 

The rest of the evening passed peacefully with Patsy working her way through all of Delia’s outlines, quizzing her on the big points, making Delia explain the most complicated concepts. And maybe it was unintentional, but it seemed like she would gently nudge Delia’s calves to reward good responses, which Delia found highly motivational. Throughout the entire process Patsy was engaged and patient and…perfect. 

When Delia finally stood to leave, she assured Patsy it was perfectly safe for her to walk home by herself before taking Patsy’s hands in hers, standing on tiptoe and placing a soft kiss on the redhead’s cheek, ‘Thank you, Patsy, for a wonderful evening. I had an amazing time.’

Patsy beamed back, ‘I did too. Good luck on your exam tomorrow. Text me and let me know how it goes. And maybe we can make plans from there?’ 

Delia nodded, ‘Absolutely.’ 

As she walked home, Delia reflected that she wasn’t sure she’d ever felt more prepared for an exam. But one thing was certain, she’d never had a better first date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm at my in-laws' now, so my time isn't fully my own. Monday and Tuesday will be coming, but I can't make guarantees as to when, other than that it will definitely be finished before Christmas. Just think of it as a super-extended series of Hannukah gifts. ;)


	7. Monday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Boxing Day to those who have a holiday!
> 
> For us, it may be the day after Christmas, but for Patsy and Delia, it's still Monday the 18th. :) Enjoy!

Delia decided she definitely needed a new phone. She’d had hers for five years already, so it was basically ancient, and now it had started behaving…oddly. Sometimes it would just erase photos or not connect on calls or take one hundred hours to load a Google search. But right now, Delia was convinced it wasn’t receiving texts. When they’d chatted right after her exam, Patsy had said she’d text when the shop was clean and she was free to hang out, but the shop had been closed for fifteen minutes and Delia hadn’t received a text. She decided that she should text Allie again, just to make sure her phone was still working. 

_Hey Allie! Just making sure my phone still isn’t broken. Can you text me?_

**Oh my gosh, Delia! Your phone is fine. Just like it was five minutes ago when you texted. She has an entire shop to clean. She’s going to text you.**

_But sometimes my phone eats texts. What if I miss it?_

**You sound like my mom when she says her Google doesn’t work. Your phone isn’t broken.**

**Aren’t you at a party? Enjoy it.**

Delia huffed and looked at the party happening around her. Chummy, one of the students in her cohort, had decided to host a little gathering to celebrate the end of their exams, and everyone was milling around the flat chatting. Normally, Delia loved things like this, relishing the opportunity to chat casually with her cohort, but today she just couldn’t focus. All she wanted to do was be with Patsy. 

She sighed and scanned the room. She supposed it made sense to talk to someone to pass the time until the redhead texted. 

Suddenly the hostess herself caught her eye and made her way over, a beaming smile on her face, ‘Hello there Delia! Have you been hiding in this corner all night? Are you worried the exam didn’t go well?’ 

Delia smiled back at her affable classmate, ‘Hey Chummy! Oh no, I feel very confident about the exam. I’m just…preoccupied with other things. Sorry to not be fully engaged. It’s a lovely party.’ 

Chummy waved her hand dismissively, ‘Don’t worry about it at all. I just wish I could be as confident as you always seem to be. I can think of at least three things I forgot. What was your study secret this time?’ 

Delia surreptitiously checked her phone for texts as she answered, ‘The same as mid terms, actually. I’ve just found a place I study really well. It’s a little coffee shop and bakery near my flat called Libby’s.’

Chummy’s face lit up, ‘Libby’s? Really? That must mean you’ve met the owner, Patience Mount?’

Delia’s eyes shot up from her phone, ‘You know Patsy?’

‘Oh yes.’ Chummy looked delighted, ‘Our families have known each other for years. She and I would often run into each other at various charity functions. Then a few years back we spent quite a bit of time together working to clean up a women’s shelter that was being terribly run. Our fathers were on the board and found out about a variety of abuses. Patsy and I took over for a bit until they could hire a new manager. She really was _impressively_ efficient at getting the place cleaned up, and a delight to spend time with.’ 

Delia was paying rapt attention, ‘What happened to Libby’s while she was at the shelter?’ 

‘Oh, this was before Libby’s. She didn’t open her little shop until after her father had passed and she inherited the building as a part of his estate.’ 

Delia felt her heart clench, ‘Patsy _owns the building_ Libby’s is in?’ 

Chummy nodded happily, ‘Mmhm. I should stop in and say Hello one day. She really is a good sort. Anyway, I’m glad her little shop was a good place for you to work. I’m sure she’d be pleased to know that.’ 

Delia nodded, though she wasn’t really paying attention, ‘Will you excuse me for a moment, Chummy? I have to…use the loo.’ 

Delia made her way to the toilet and shut herself in. She pulled out her phone. 

_Mary. There’s a problem._

**I really don’t think your phone is broken, Delia.**

_No, not that. Patsy OWNS the building Libby’s is in. As PART of a greater estate._

**So?**

_So, she’s rich. I took her to fish and chips and a walk on our first date._

**And she took you to her coffee shop. What’s the problem?**

_Her coffee shop in the BUILDING SHE OWNS. What happens when she finds out I’m broke?_

**You go there every day and re-steep the same tea three times. She probably already knows.**

_She attended charity functions and things like that. She’s not going to want to be with someone like me._

**You don’t like charity?**

_What? No. Charity is great. You know what I mean._

Just then a text from Patsy popped up on her phone.

**Hello! The shop’s clean and I’m free. Would you still be interested in hanging out?**

For a moment, Delia’s heart leapt into her throat with excitement before she remembered her current dilemma. She switched back to her chat with Mary. 

_She just texted. What do I do?_

**What do you mean what do you do? Text her back.**

_But what if she wants to go somewhere fancy?_

**Stop overthinking this Delia. She owns a coffee shop. You have a career as a nurse. You had a great first date. Go hang out with her.**

Delia took a deep breath. Mary was right. Delia wasn’t some broke uni student. She was a broke _masters_ student with a fulfilling career. Anyway, she was only broke because she’d voluntarily cut back her hours to give herself more time to study. It was going to be fine. She pulled up the conversation with Patsy. 

_I’d love to._

 

**********

 

Patsy let out a sigh of relief. It had taken Delia a bit of time to respond, and Patsy had convinced herself that the brunette was trying to find a way to turn her down gently. 

**Great! What do you feel up for?**

_Honestly, I’m pretty exhausted after my exam today. So maybe something low-key?_

Low-key? What exactly did that mean? Had their date been ‘low-key’? Did you have to stay in to be ‘low-key’? 

Trixie’s amused voice roused her from her concentration, ‘I take it from the combination of elation and confusion on your face that she texted back with something you don’t understand.’ 

Patsy looked up from her seat at the dining room table to watch Trixie make her way to the snack cabinet and begin rooting through it, ‘Well, I understand, I’m just not sure how to respond. She wants to do something ‘low-key’ and I don’t know what to suggest.’

Trixie’s voice echoed out from the back of the cabinet, ‘Patsy, your entire _life_ is low-key. If you want to do it, it’ll be a valid suggestion…do we have any more Jaffa Cakes?’ 

Patsy huffed, ‘Trixie, I _own_ a bakery. We _make_ a soft marmalade chocolate biscuit.’ 

‘Mmhm. And sometimes I want packaged Jaffa Cakes…aha! Here they are!’ Trixie emerged triumphantly from the cabinet brandishing the package, ‘Now, let me see the texts.’ 

Patsy showed Trixie her phone. 

‘Oh, this is easy. Just say ‘Low-key sounds good’ or something like that. That way she can make the first suggestion.’ 

Patsy looked down at the phone. Of course. Ugh, why was she so bad at this? She typed out her response. 

**Low-key sounds wonderful. Any ideas?**

Trixie gave a pleased nod and made her way to the kitchen counter to put the Jaffa Cakes onto a plate. 

_Maybe a night in. Perhaps a movie at your place?_

Patsy looked up and watched Trixie carry the plate into the living room where she snuggled onto the couch in front of the TV with Barbara and Cynthia. Her flat would be decidedly… _not_ private. But she felt a little uncomfortable inviting herself to Delia’s. She decided to leave it open and see if Delia invited her. 

**I’m not sure my house would be the most low-key place right now. All of my flatmates are in.**

 

*********

 

Delia sighed. Ugh. Her flatmates were in. Of course. She knew the next logical course of action, but she _really_ didn’t want to. She pulled up her conversation with Mary. 

_I said I wanted a night in, but all of her flatmates are in, so now I have to invite her to mine. What do I do?_

**What’s the problem? Is Val in or something?**

_No, she’s out tonight. But I can’t bring Patsy to my place. I basically live in a closet in a tiny dingy flat. She owns a building._

**Your place just has rustic charm. Anyway, you have a settee. That’s the perfect size for snuggling.**

_Yeah, because we don’t have room for a sofa._

**Delia, you have the opportunity to invite a gorgeous woman you had a wonderful first date with over to your flat. Stop being ridiculous.**

Delia furrowed her brow and huffed. This wasn’t the kind of support she wanted _at all_. Why couldn’t Mary understand why this was an issue? She pulled up her texts with Allie. 

_Allie, it turns out Patsy’s rich and now I have to invite her over to my flat but I can’t because it’s a dump. What do I do?_

**Delia, I’m sitting on the couch with Mary. She’s reading me all of your texts.**

**And she’s right, you’re being ridiculous.**

Delia huffed and composed her response, but right as she hit send, a text arrived from Patsy and her phone randomly switched over to that conversation. Delia’s stomach plummeted to the centre of the earth as she looked at her phone screen in horror. 

**Maybe we could go to your flat?**

_Ugh. You are the absolute WORST._

No no no no noooooooooo. Delia resisted the urge to snap her phone into a million pieces and fling each piece individually into the sun. Stupid piece of crap phone! She immediately began composing an explanatory text when someone knocked loudly on the door. 

‘Hello, Delia? Are you alright it there? Young Freddie has just been potty-trained and is in dire need of the loo.’ 

‘Ummm, yes…hold on just one second!’ Delia began panicking. She needed a moment to think about how to fix this. 

‘I don’t want to rush you too much, but it’s a bit of an emergency.’ 

Delia cursed under her breath, pasted on a smile and opened the door, ‘So sorry.’ 

Chummy gave her a friendly smile as she rushed into the toilet with her young son. Delia immediately sought out a corner. Too much time was passing. Patsy would be panicking. She needed to send a response NOW. 

 

*********

 

Patsy’s heart sunk into her stomach. Oh no. She _knew_ she shouldn’t have just invited herself over to Delia’s. But why was she the WORST? That response seemed so out of proportion. 

She shot up from the table and hurried into the living room in a bit of a panic, ‘Trixie! I’ve buggered everything up and now Delia’s mad at me! What do I do?’ 

Trixie furrowed her brow, ‘You’ve been alone in the kitchen for five minutes. What on earth did you do?’ 

Patsy thrust the phone into Trixie’s face and the blonde looked more confused than ever as she took in the exchange. 

‘You didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t know. Maybe she’s just trying to be funny?’ 

‘By calling me the worst?’ 

Barbara perked up, ‘Delia called you the worst? That’s odd. Let me see.’ Barbara took the phone and examined the messages, her brow furrowing as she read them, ‘Why wouldn’t the flat be low-key? We’re just watching a movie.’ 

‘That’s not the point, Barbara! What do you make of the end?’ 

Barbara shrugged, ‘I think it was a mistake and she meant to send that message to a friend and she’s very sorry if she made you panic and she’d love to have you come over to her flat.’ 

Patsy was baffled, ‘What? How did you get all that?’ 

‘Because it says it in the last text that just came in.’ 

‘What? She sent another text?’ Patsy leapt at Barbara, scrabbling the phone out of her hands. There was another message from Delia. 

_Oh my god, that message was meant for a friend, not you. I’m SO SORRY if I made you panic. I’d love to have you over to my flat._

Patsy felt her heart rate begin to stabilize. It had been a mistake. Delia was sorry she’d made Patsy panic. Delia wanted to have Patsy over to her flat. She grinned down at her phone. 

**Oh good. I was only a little panicked. Should I meet you there?**

She stared at the text for a moment before adding on. 

**And I’m sorry your friend is the worst.**

 

*******

 

Delia smiled down at her phone. Thank goodness Patsy was understanding. They sent a few more messages back and forth arranging for Delia to come pick Patsy up so they could walk to her flat together. 

She was still a little embarrassed to be having Patsy over to her flat, but the invitation had seemed like a necessity after her screw-up with the texts. And really, she _was_ excited. But she was also a little ashamed. She was an adult with a career who lived in a _supremely_ shabby flat. She liked Patsy a lot and had hoped to delay the redhead seeing it until at least after the second date. Oh well. At least it was clean. 

As she shuffled on her coat she thought of a stop she should make before heading to pick Patsy up. She’d been hoping to keep the information she’d gleaned from Trixie in her back pocket for a later surprise. But considering that she’d already mucked up and made Patsy panic, she figured she could pull out a few tricks in order to apologize. 

 

_________________

 

Patsy’s heart leapt up into her throat when she heard the doorbell buzz. Delia was here! She took a deep breath and stopped herself from sprinting down the stairs to the door. Cool and collected, she reminded herself, be cool and collected. 

Still, she opened it with a beaming smile, which somehow grew impossible larger when she saw Delia standing looking slightly nervous holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers. 

‘You brought me flowers?’ Patsy was so surprised and touched the words just kind of tumbled out. She winced internally. Ugh. That was so rude. ‘I mean, Hello, it’s lovely to see you.’ 

Delia beamed back at her, ‘It’s lovely to see you too. And yes, I brought you flowers. Both as a thank you for helping me study and as an apology for making you panic earlier. I’m sorry if I worried you for even a moment.’ Delia reached out, offering them up. 

Patsy took them, noticing as she did what kinds of flowers they were, ‘Thank you. They’re lovely.’ Her tone changed to playfully suspicious, ‘And I’m impressed that you just _happened_ to know that white mums, yellow carnations and goldenrod are my favourites.’ 

Delia shrugged and shot her a little smirk, ‘It’s just like you _happened_ to know that a mocha latte with peppermint was my favourite drink.’

‘Mmmm, yes. We must just both be a tiny bit clairvoyant.’ 

‘I think that must be it.’ 

Patsy simply grinned at Delia for a moment, not entirely able to believe that this wonderful, thoughtful woman was actually real. After an awkwardly long pause, she pointed back up towards her apartment, ‘Would you like to come up for a moment while I put these in a vase? And then we can head to yours?’ 

Delia nodded, ‘I’d love to.’ 

 

_______________

 

Delia glanced around curiously as the redhead busied herself fetching a vase and preparing the flowers. Patsy’s flat was much less opulent than she’d feared. In fact, it was quite…functional. The kitchen and living room were wonderfully spacious, but the decorations were classily restrained and most of the furniture seemed to favour comfort over fashion. But still…there was so much _room_. 

The trio of flatmates on the couch called out their Hellos, but otherwise didn’t bother her, though Trixie did point at the flowers and flash a little thumbs up when Patsy’s back was turned.

When Patsy had arranged the flowers precisely in a vase, she turned to Delia and somewhat shyly suggested she’d like to put them in her room. Delia followed her up the stairs to a small landing with four doors. Patsy explained that she, Barbara and Cynthia lived up here and shared a washroom while Trixie had the en-suite bedroom on the floor below because she’d complained so much about having to take the extra stairs. 

Patsy placed the flowers on the sill of an east-facing window, declaring that she’d be able to see them catch the light as the sun rose. Delia smiled to herself. That’s exactly where she would have put them too. 

Delia glanced a bit longingly around the airy room. The ceilings were so high and there was a huge closet and room to walk around the bed. She wished they could just stay here, snuggled on the bed watching Netflix on Patsy’s computer, but just as she was about the suggest just that, Patsy turned to her, smiling broadly. 

‘Well, now that that’s all settled, shall we head to your flat?’ 

Looking into her eyes, Delia realized it wasn’t fair to ask Patsy to stay up in her room when her roommates were downstairs. It would undoubtedly be a bit awkward for the redhead. She took a deep breath and swallowed her pride. 

‘Yes, lets.’ 

 

__________________________

 

Patsy could tell that Delia was nervous, but she couldn’t fathom why. The brunette had taken her arm, but Patsy could feel a slight tension radiating through her body. When they’d chatted earlier, Delia had been quite pleased with how her exam had gone, so that probably wasn’t the problem. She could only assume that Delia was still concerned about her earlier slip-up with the texts. 

Looking down warmly, Patsy gave the brunette’s arm a little squeeze, ‘Is everything okay, Delia? You seem a little tense. If you’re still worried about the text message thing, please don’t be. Things like that happen. I understand.’ 

Delia shook her head, ‘Oh no. It’s not about that. It’s just that…’ Delia sighed and looked away guiltily. Patsy felt a thrum of anxiety begin coursing through her veins. Something was wrong. Delia continued, ‘I talked to a colleague of mine tonight, I think you know her, Chummy Noakes?’

Patsy nodded, feeling tense. 

‘And she told me that she knew you from charity functions and things like that and that you owned the building you live in and that you have a greater estate…and, well…it just made me a little worried.’ 

Patsy could tell her distress was evident in her voice, ‘Do you not want to be with someone from a posh background? I promise, I don’t really do hoity-toity events anymore. I find then too…snobbish.’ 

Delia looked up in shock, ‘What? No! Your background isn’t an issue _at all_.’ She looked away again and muttered, ‘It’s just that…well…I don’t really have any money and my flat’s tiny and a bit of a dump and yours is so nice and I’m just a little…embarrassed, that’s all.’ 

Patsy felt relief flow through her, ‘Oh gosh, Delia, please don’t be. I don’t care in the least about how much money you have. And as for your flat, as long as it has a kettle, a place to sit, and you in it, well…then it has all I need.’ 

Delia looked up at her hopefully, ‘Really?’ 

Patsy nodded, ‘Really.’ 

Delia gave a relieved little smile, ‘Even if I make you drink your tea right out of the kettle?’ 

Patsy chuckled, ‘Even if I have to drink the tea out of the kettle. Though if we’re getting that particular, I suppose I should specify that I’d prefer if it had a loo.’ 

Delia laughed, her tension gone, ‘If you include the outhouse out the back, then absolutely.’ 

Patsy narrowed her eyes, ‘I _think_ you’re joking, but…’ 

Delia gave her arm a little squeeze, ‘Never fear, we have a loo. And a shower, even. And a pretty impressive collection of mugs, actually, so no need to brave the kettle. My mam loves sending me tacky mugs from charity shops that say things like ‘World’s Best Daughter’. My favourite is one that’s shaped like a sheep that says ‘I love ewe’ spelled e-w-e. It feels particularly Welsh.’

Patsy smiled, ‘That sounds adorable. You’d made your mother sound quite terrifying.’ 

‘Oh she is. Don’t let her fondness for whimsical frippery fool you.’ Suddenly Delia stopped in front of a small, slightly dilapidated building, ‘Well, we’re here.’ 

Patsy looked up at the building and, sensing Delia’s returning nervousness, shot the brunette a warm smile, ‘Let’s go in. I’m eager to see which _whimsical_ mug you pick for me.’ 

 

___________________

 

Delia watched carefully as Patsy took in her little flat. She gave a short tour from where they stood by the door, pointing out the doors to her and Val’s rooms and the loo. Everything was pretty much accessible within ten steps or so. 

Patsy smiled, ‘It feels so wonderfully cozy and warm in here, Delia. I love the yellow walls. Did the flat come like that, or did you paint it?’ 

Delia let herself relax a little, ‘I painted it when I moved in, actually. I have to paint it back when I leave, but it’s definitely worth it. It brightens up the space immensely.’ 

Patsy nodded, ‘It definitely does.’ She glanced around, looking a bit confused, ‘And is the TV in your room?’ 

‘We don’t have one, actually. We just watch things on our laptops, though we also have a projector for special occasions.’

‘A projector?’

Delia nodded and pulled a small projector and a sheet out from the bottom of a small set of shelves. Handing the projector to Patsy, she grabbed a kitchen chair and stood on it in order to hang the sheet from nails already set in the wall. 

‘There! Now we just have to connect the projector and voila, it’s like being in your own private theatre.’ 

Patsy looked delighted, ‘Delia, that’s so… _cool_.’ She looked back and forth between the projector and the sheet, as if trying to imagine how it would look, ‘So, do you want to watch something?’ 

‘That sounds great. I’ll get the kettle going first.’ She filled the kettle from the tap and placed it on the cooker. ‘Do you have any thoughts on what you might want to watch?’ 

Patsy had meandered over to the collection of DVDs that took up the several shelves of the small living room bookcase, ‘You have an impressive collection of old movies.’ 

‘Yeah, my tad’s a _huge_ fan of old movies, and we used to watch them all the time when I was little. Now, he sends me DVDs every so often because Netflix is pretty crap in terms of their selection of the classics.’ 

Patsy looked slightly wistful as she ran her hand across the neatly organized row of cases, ‘Your parents certainly seem to care a great deal about you.’ 

Delia, remembering that Chummy had mentioned Patsy’s father passing, decided to keep it light, ‘Well, I’ll never lack for mugs and DVDs, if that’s what you’re implying…what kind of tea would you like?’ 

Patsy smiled, ‘Something herbal, if you have it.’ 

Delia nodded and grabbed her box of chamomile, ‘So, is there a movie there that catches your eye?’ 

‘You know, I’ve always been curious about _La Dolce Vita_. Everyone says it’s one of the best movies ever made, but I’ve never had the opportunity to see it.’ 

‘You have excellent taste…both in movies and in leading actresses. It _is_ a bit long, though.’ 

Patsy shrugged, ‘I don’t have anywhere to be.’ 

Delia felt her heart skip a bit as she realized that Patsy was comfortable here. She wasn’t put off by her flat’s tininess or ancient cooker or leaky tap. She wanted to stay and watch a three-hour movie on a Monday night. Patsy wanted to spend time with her. The very thought sent a little shot of excitement through her. 

‘Okay then, _La Dolce Vita_ it is. Let me grab my computer. You can get settled.’ 

She set up the projector and prepared the tea, choosing Patsy’s mug carefully, while the redhead nestled into the settee. 

Delia beamed as she handed the redhead her selection. Patsy inspected her mug in the shape of a penguin wearing a Santa hat critically, ‘Well, there’s no pithy saying, but you _do_ get credit for seasonal appropriateness and overall adorableness. I approve. Which one did you pick for yourself?’ 

Delia held up her mug depicting a slice of bacon singing ‘Don’t go bacon my heart’ into a microphone, ‘I went for full-on bad pun.’ 

She made her way to the light switch, pausing for a moment before switching them off. ‘Patsy, before we start, can I ask you a question?’ 

‘Of course.’ 

‘If you own the building and have an estate and everything, why do you have flatmates? Surely you could afford to live by yourself.’ 

Patsy eyed Delia pensively for a moment before taking a deep breath, ‘Yes, I could afford it, but that’s not really the point. I don’t mind time spent alone, but too much of it isn’t particularly good for me. I can get…overly introspective. Living with flatmates makes me happier. Or at least, these flatmates do. I know they’ll move on eventually, but by then, maybe I’ll have found…’ Patsy stopped suddenly, turning a little red, ‘I mean, it doesn’t look like they’ll be moving out all that soon anyway, so I’m not too worried.’ 

Delia smiled to herself. Patsy’s consistent awkwardness was just so _adorable_. The brunette also hoped that Patsy would find someone before her flatmates moved out. And she was beginning to realise just how much she hoped that someone would be her. 

She smiled warmly, ‘That makes sense. Are you ready to start the movie?’ 

Patsy nodded and Delia shut off the lights. Settling in next to Patsy with her tea, it struck her how _right_ this felt. She was glad Patsy had chosen such a long movie, and one that she liked so much. She wanted to be able to enjoy being alert and awake snuggling next to Patsy for as long as possible. 

 

______________________ 

 

Patsy wasn’t sure _what_ to do. When Delia had sat down, she had settled in pleasantly close to Patsy, and though she’s been terrified, it had only taken about ten minutes for the redhead to work up the nerve to put her arm around the smaller woman. Delia had delightedly snuggled in closer, nestling her head into the crook of Patsy’s shoulder and sending a warm fizziness bubbling through Patsy’s entire body. 

Then, about an hour into the movie, Delia had nodded off. At first, Patsy had firmly enjoyed watching the movie with the brunette snoring lightly on her chest, the top of her head resting lightly against Patsy’s cheek. She thought it was a bit of an honour that Delia felt safe and comfortable enough to fall asleep on her shoulder. And while she found the film a bit…odd, it was certainly engaging. 

But now, the tea had worked its way through her, and Patsy’s need to use the loo was getting a bit uncomfortable. She checked the time on her phone. There was about an hour left in the movie. There was simply no way she could last that long. But moving would also mean waking up Delia, who would undoubtedly be embarrassed about having fallen asleep, and might decide to lean the other way or even ask Patsy to leave. Patsy didn’t _want_ Delia to stop snuggling with her. She just wanted to be able to pause the movie, run to the loo, and then return to this exact position, with Delia’s body nestled up closely next to hers. 

She vacillated for a moment before realizing she really had no choice. She paused the movie and slowly began moving to get up, removing her arm from where it was wrapped around Delia’s shoulder. Delia started awake and looked around a bit confused. 

‘Oh no, did I fall asleep on you? I’m so sorry. I must just have been exhausted after my exam.’ She brought her hand up to her face, ‘I hope I didn’t drool or anything.’

Patsy checked her shirt, ‘No, no drool. And no need to apologize. It was quite nice, actually. I only woke you up because I have a rather urgent need to use the loo, so if you’ll excuse me.’ 

She got up and went into the tiny washroom, which consisted of a sink, toilet and shower all of which were practically on top of each other. And yet, even this cramped room was filled with delightful little touches…cute framed photos on the wall and an adorable otter toothbrush holder and some kind of potted plant sitting cheerily on the back of the toilet. She was thoroughly impressed with Delia’s ability to make the most of a small space. 

Returning to the settee, Patsy mentally prepared for Delia to ask her to leave. But instead, Delia simply eyed her uncertainly and asked, ‘Are you sure it was okay, me falling asleep on you?’ 

‘Yes, it was absolutely fine.’

‘And are you enjoying the movie?’ 

‘I am, actually. It’s fascinating, though a bit…obtuse, but I can see why people like it.’ 

Delia suddenly looked a bit nervous, ‘Well then, do you want to pick up where you left off? I can’t promise I won’t fall asleep again, but if you don’t mind…?’ 

Patsy tried to play it cool despite being internally ecstatic that her best possible scenario was actually coming to fruition, ‘I don’t mind at all.’ 

Her heart soared as Delia snuggled happily back into her side. As they both had probably expected, Delia fell asleep about five minutes after the movie had restarted, but Patsy didn’t mind. She happily passed the next hour watching the film with rapt attention, Delia’s head resting gently on her chest, the warmth of her presence making Patsy feel like she was glowing with happiness. She was glad she had chosen such a long movie. She wanted to be able to enjoy the feeling of Delia nestled up against her for as long as possible. 

 

_______________________

 

Delia awoke slowly, feeling warm and happy. Remaining very still, she simply took in the immersive sensations of being snuggled into Patsy’s side. She felt the redhead’s thumb rub lazily on her shoulder as she listened to the steady beating of her heart. Her exams were over and now she was here on her settee nestled up against a woman she never would have dared to imagine would be interested in her. She felt like her heart might burst as an almost unbearable feeling of contentment coursed through her. This was _exactly_ where she wanted to be. 

She heard the music of the credits and felt Patsy begin to stir. Sighing, she sat up a bit, resigned to the fact that the redhead couldn’t stay forever. Still, Delia remained nestled up against her, unwilling to put any separation between them until it was absolutely necessary. 

She smiled softly up at Patsy, ‘So, what did you think?’ 

Patsy craned her head to look down at her, a small smirk on her face, ‘It was good, though surprisingly risqué for a movie filmed in 1959. I mean, an orgy?’ 

Delia laughed, ‘I know, right? And Anita Ekberg in that fountain must have been _quite_ scandalous. I’ll bet the lesbians of the day were all sneaking off to the theatre to see it.’ 

Patsy agreed heartily. They spent the next while chatting about their favourite parts, the odd structure of the film, other favourite old movies. Delia felt like she could happily talk with Patsy forever.

Then, Delia happened to adjust her position in the settee just as Patsy did, and she suddenly found herself facing the redhead, looking deeply into her expressive blue eyes. The air in the room thickened slightly. Delia was struck dumb by the strength of her desire to lean forward and place a soft kiss on Patsy's lips. She held back, though, wary of coming across as too forward. She willed Patsy to give her a sign that that's what she wanted too, a glance or a lean or a comment. But the redhead seemed frozen, hardly even breathing. They sat staring at each other, a palpable tension filling the room. 

Delia winced when she heard a key slide into the lock, disturbing the moment. Val was home. She turned and looked as her flatmate pushed the door open with her shoulder. Val looked up in surprise. 

‘Oh. Hey. Sorry. Delia told me she’d be having someone over tonight, but I didn’t know you’d still be here. I hope I didn’t disturb anything. I’m Val, by the way.’ 

Patsy stood quickly, anxiously running her hands up and down her thighs, ‘Patsy. And please don’t worry. Our movie just finished and I was about to head home.’ 

Val smiled at Patsy before glancing a bit uncertainly at Delia, ‘Well, I’m absolutely knackered, so I’m going to pop in the loo and then go to sleep. It was nice to meet you Patsy.’ 

‘Likewise.’ Patsy eyed Val nervously as the interloper made her way into the washroom and closed the door. The redhead turned to Delia, ‘It _is_ rather late, and both of us have to be up early tomorrow, so I should probably head back.’ 

Delia gave a little nod and stood, feeling a bit forlorn, ‘That makes sense.’ 

Patsy carried her mug into the kitchen and then made her way to the sheet, standing on tiptoe to take it down from the wall. Folding it precisely, she handed it to Delia with a shy smile, ‘That seemed easier than making you haul a chair around.’ 

Delia beamed up at her, ‘Thanks, Pats.’ 

Patsy quirked an eyebrow at her before shrugging, ‘It’s nice to be able to put my height to good use.’ She turned and retrieved her coat from the hook by the door, shrugging it on. 

They stood looking at each other for a moment before the washroom door suddenly opened and Val came out, bidding them goodnight before making her way to her room and closing the door. 

Patsy stood by the door, bundled up for the cold, ‘Thank you so much for inviting me over. I had a lovely evening.’ 

Delia smiled and took a deep breath, deciding in the moment to take matters into her own hands, ‘It _was_ a lovely evening, and I’d very much like to end it by kissing you, if that’s okay?’ 

A flush began creeping up Patsy’s neck, as the redhead looked down with a small, bashful smile, ‘I’d like that very much.’ 

Delia grinned up at her for a moment before taking a somewhat tentative step forward, laying her hand softly on Patsy’s cheek. She was preparing to stand on her tiptoes for the kiss, when Patsy leaned forward, bridging the gap between them. When their lips met it was warm and soft and wonderful. Delia felt a tingling warmth course through her as the kiss deepened and Patsy wrapped her arm around Delia’s waist, pulling them even closer together. 

They remained like that for several moments, Delia thoroughly enjoying being wrapped in Patsy’s embrace, before they eventually broke apart and stepped back slightly, staring giddily at each other. 

Delia took Patsy’s hand in hers, beaming, ‘Well, _that_ certainly was a wonderful way to end the evening.’ 

Patsy nodded, looking delighted. 

Suddenly, Delia looked down with a sigh, running her thumb across Patsy’s knuckles ‘I’m sad that I have to leave tomorrow. I can’t believe I’m not going to get to see you for three weeks.’ 

Patsy gave Delia a sad smile, ‘I’m glad you’re getting to spend time with your family. And we’ll text and talk on the phone.’ She paused for a moment, ‘I’m sorry I have this bloody trip scheduled.’

Delia shook her head, ‘No, you and Trixie are going to have a fabulous time. You deserve to go and have a little fun.’ Delia saw Patsy look like she was going to protest, so she added, ‘And so does she.’

Patsy gave a small nod, ‘I’ll miss you, though.’ 

Delia gave Patsy’s hand a little squeeze, ‘I’ll miss you too.’ She stood on tiptoe and pressed another light kiss to Patsy’s lips. The redhead eagerly returned it, and for a moment Delia allowed herself to get lost in the blissful feeling of Patsy’s kiss. 

After a few moments, Patsy pulled away and smiled down at her adoringly, ‘I’ll definitely miss that.’ 

Delia giggled, ‘Why Patsy, you have a bit of a roguish side after all.’ 

Patsy gave a shy smile before catching sight of the time and sighing, ‘I suppose I should head home before it gets too late.’ 

Delia didn’t really want Patsy to leave, but knew deep down that it was a bit too early on to ask her to stay. And anyway, Patsy had seemed completely comfortable with the state of her flat, but her bedroom was a different matter entirely. She looked up a bit regretfully into Patsy’s eyes as she gave her hand a little squeeze, ‘Text me when you get home safe, okay? And I’ll see you on January 9th?’ 

Patsy nodded and smiled down warmly, ‘January 9th. It’s a date.’ 

 

_______________________

 

As Patsy made her way along the short route home, she felt like she was walking on air. Her spirits were buoyed not only by the lingering warmth from the amazing kisses they had just shared but also by the knowledge that she _wouldn’t_ have to wait until January 9th to see Delia again. 

No, in addition to her favourite drink and pastry, Allie had relayed one more little nugget of information, and Patsy was eager to put it to use tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't seen the Christmas special yet, but I know a few of you were feeling a bit bummed after it yesterday. I hope that the oodles of fluff here have helped even a tiny bit in making you feel better.


	8. Tuesday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, I didn't plan on having this take until now to finish, but life has a way of laughing at our plans. I've found the best thing to do is just to make new plans and keep chugging along. In that vein, here is the very belated end to this little tale. Not done on time, but done nonetheless. Thanks for all of your continued patience, and I sincerely hope you enjoy the final day of this adventure...and yes, for our heroines it's still December 19th. :)

Patsy stood on the platform awkwardly shifting from foot to foot. Delia’s train left in fifteen minutes, but the brunette was nowhere to be seen. Why wasn’t she here yet? Patsy realized that her personal routine of arriving half an hour early to pretty much everything was unusual, but she figured fifteen minutes seemed reasonable. Especially when she knew Delia liked to get there early enough to claim a window seat. 

A sudden thought struck her…perhaps Delia was already on the train? Perhaps she’d arrived even _earlier_ than Patsy. She glanced down at her phone. Should she text Delia to make sure she hadn’t missed her somehow? It _was_ a fairly large and bustling station. 

She took a deep breath, calming herself. No. She was being silly. She hadn’t missed her. Delia would be here. And if she texted now she would ruin the surprise. 

Patsy hopped up and down slightly on the balls of her feet, attempting to release some pent-up nervous energy. She glanced down at the items in her hands. A bag of pastries, a box containing an éclair, and a thermos of coffee prepared just the way Delia liked it. She eyed the thermos again, sceptically, suddenly realizing that bringing a thermos rather than a simple to-go cup was a bit of a mom move. Oh no. She’d been trying to be considerate and now she’d overdone it and Delia was going to think that she was creepy and mothering. Ugh. Why couldn’t Patsy have just brought the coffee in a to-go cup like a normal person? 

She shifted everything precariously into one hand and pulled out her phone. 

_The thermos is too much, isn’t it?_

Trixie responded instantly.

**Like too much coffee? It seemed reasonably sized to me.**

_No, like TOO MUCH. It’s a mom move._

**A mom move?**

_Something a mom would do. Like giving her kids their lunch in a thermos before seeing them off to school. She’s going to think I’m overbearing._

**Patsy, you’re overthinking things. You wanted her to have hot coffee. That’s just sweet.**

_It’s too much. I should toss it in the bin._

**First, THIS is why I told you not to go so bloody early. Because I knew you’d have time to ramp yourself up. And second, I won that thermos in a raffle and you’re not allowed to toss it in the bin.**

_I’ll hide it behind the bin until she’s gone._

**No. You won’t. You’ll take several deep breaths, calm down, and then give her the thermos. It’s not too much.**

Patsy looked uncertainly at the phone and then took several long deep breaths. The thermos wasn’t too much. It was going to be fine. None of this was too much. Showing up at the train station because Delia’s friend had disclosed her train schedule was cute, not creepy. Delia wasn’t going to think she was a stalker…oh god, Delia was going to think she was a stalker. This was all a terrible idea. 

Suddenly her phone buzzed. It was from Trixie. 

**You being there isn’t too much either. Deep breaths, Patsy.**

Patsy gave the phone a little smile and kept taking deep breaths. Thank god for Trixie Franklin. She checked the time on her phone. Ten minutes until Delia’s train left. Where _was_ she? 

 

________________________

 

Delia checked her phone. It was half an hour before her train left. Really, she should be on the bus right now, the one that would get her to the station with plenty of time to snag a window seat. But instead, she was on her way to Libby’s, which would have _just_ opened. She knew that taking the next bus would be cutting it close, but she wanted to see Patsy one last time before she had to leave for Wales. She was so excited to see the look of surprise on Patsy’s face when she walked into the shop. 

Pushing the door open, she beamed in the direction of the counter only to have her face drop when she noticed that the barista definitely wasn’t Patsy.

‘Barbara? I didn’t know you worked here. Where’s Patsy?’ 

Barbara whirled around, a look of startled horror on her face as she glanced at the clock on the wall, ‘Delia!? What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be on the bus to the train station?’ 

‘Well, yes, technically, but I thought I’d stop by and say Hello to Patsy first.’ Delia’s brow furrowed, ‘Wait, why do you know my schedule?’ 

Barbara suddenly looked incredibly uncertain, shuffling awkwardly from foot to foot, ‘Uh…Patsy must have mentioned it offhandedly. But anyway, she’s not here, so you should probably go to the train station…like, right away. You know, so you don’t miss the train or anything.’ 

Delia looked quizzically at Barbara for a moment before suddenly everything clicked and her stomach dropped, ‘Oh no. She’s waiting for me at the station isn’t she?’ 

Barbara winced and nodded quickly, ‘She was so excited about surprising you. Your gay lady friend, the blonde one, told her your train schedule. You really should go right away.’ 

Delia felt panic rising up in her, ‘But I’ve already missed the bus and the next one won’t get me there until five minutes before the train leaves. I was going to cut it close in order to see Patsy. Now I’m going to miss her!’ 

Barbara looked frantically around, as if the answer to their conundrum lay somewhere in the shop itself, before her eyes landed on the till. She leapt forward and pressed the buttons on it emphatically until it popped open with a satisfying ‘ding’. She reached in and grabbed a gigantic wad of notes, thrusting it at Delia, ‘Here! Take a cab!’ 

Delia was completely taken aback, ‘I can’t take money from the till.’ 

‘Trust me, Patsy won’t mind. Anyway, I’ll replace it later, so it’s from me, not Patsy.’ 

‘Given that we’ve exchanged, like, five sentences, I’m not sure that’s any better.’ 

Barbara waved the notes frantically, ‘Delia, we don’t have time for this! Patsy is waiting! Take the money!’ 

Taking in Barbara’s panicked face, Delia realized that, of course, she was right. She needed to get to Patsy. She reached out and grabbed the wad of notes yelling, ‘Thanks! I’ll pay you back!’ before darting out the door. 

She hailed a cab, crammed her bags in the back, jumped in…and then proceeded to immediately get stuck in traffic. Ugh. She checked her phone. Her map app indicated she would arrive at the station about ten minutes before her train left. Should she text Patsy and let her know she was on the way? She remembered Barbara saying Patsy had been so excited about surprising her. No, she wasn’t going to ruin that for Patsy. She’d get there ten minutes before, pretend to be surprised, and then she’d get to spend ten delightful minutes with Patsy. 

She leaned back in her seat and took a deep breath, her leg bouncing nervously, and willed the cab to go faster. Patsy was waiting. 

________________

 

‘Patsy?’ 

Patsy looked up from the phone and saw a rather red and flustered Delia walking briskly towards her. All of her stresses and worries simply melted away. Delia was here. She beamed down at the brunette, ‘Hello.’ 

‘Hello.’ Delia grinned back. 

After a moment, she realized she was just staring at Delia with a dopey grin on her face, so she thrust the various packages in Delia’s direction, ‘I brought you some treats. As a surprise. For your train ride. Which your friend told me was now.’ She winced internally. Could she _be_ more awkward? 

Delia reached out and took them as Patsy explained, ‘The box is an éclair for you to have after your sandwich. The thermos is full of coffee. I put it in a thermos so it would be warm. The bag is full of other fresh pastries and cakes…for your mother’s welcome tea. You said she always gets stressed about finding the very freshest cakes to welcome you home, and I thought maybe she’d be less stressed if she knew there were cakes coming that had just been baked this morning.’ 

Delia looked down at the haul, ‘Thank you, Patsy. This is all so very thoughtful. The thermos is particularly nice because I can just stick it in my backpack…it’s so easy to transport.’ As if to demonstrate, she took the backpack off her back and slid the thermos and éclair box into it. She placed the bag of cakes gently on top of her roller bag, ‘And I’ll call my mam and let her know. She may insist on buying cakes anyway because she’s sceptical of everything from London, but I’m sure she’ll appreciate the gesture regardless…and I know _I’ll_ appreciate the cakes.’ 

Patsy smiled down at her, ‘Well, I figured it’s never too soon to try to make a good impression. You keep saying she’s terrifying and I don’t want her to hate me.’ She suddenly realized that, at this point, even considering that she might get to meet Delia’s mother was _wildly_ presumptuous. She rushed to recover, ‘I mean, not that I expect to meet her anytime soon. Or really ever, necessarily. I just thought—’

Delia cut off her ramble by taking both of her hands and looking up at her adoringly, ‘It’s never too early to make an effort, Pats.’ She gave Patsy’s hands a little squeeze, ‘And I don’t think she’ll hate you.’ 

Patsy released a long, calming exhale and grinned. 

Delia continued, ‘I really appreciate the treats, but the best surprise is getting to see you again before I go. Thanks for coming.’ 

Looking into Delia’s eyes, Patsy saw happiness and…was that relief? But no surprise. She cocked her head to the side, ‘You’re welcome, but you don’t look that surprised, actually.’

Delia looked down a bit guiltily, ‘Ah yes, well. As it turns out, I stopped by Libby’s this morning to say Hello, and when I saw Barbara instead of you…well, I kind of figured it out. Sorry I’m not better at pretending to be surprised. The cab got stuck in traffic so I got out and ran the last bit so I’d have time to see you. I think I was a little too tired to pull off fake surprise.’ 

Patsy was more touched than she wanted to admit, ‘You came by Libby’s to see me? And you ran?’ 

Delia nodded, ‘I wanted to surprise you before I had to leave. And then I wanted to be sure I had time to see you.’ 

Feeling inexplicably guilty, Patsy looked down, ‘I’m sorry my surprise ruined your surprise.’ 

Delia gave a little chuckle and swung Patsy’s arms playfully, ‘Don’t be silly. Getting to see you is wonderful, and your surprises are incredibly sweet. Though I have to warn you, I may not wait until after my sandwich to eat the éclair. I’ve never been able to resist the temptation of a delicious pastry for long. And I did work up quite an appetite, what with the running here and all.’ 

Patsy raised an eyebrow, ‘Do I need to be worried about none of the cakes actually _making_ it home to your mother?’ 

Delia laughed, ‘Well, I _did_ say that _I’d_ appreciate them, so…’ Patsy feigned horror and gave Delia a little slap on the shoulder. The brunette giggled, ‘But seriously, I’ll make sure they get to her. Or at least _most_ of them do.’ 

They stood there for a moment just smiling at each other before Patsy looked around nervously, ‘I don’t want to keep you from the train for too long. I know how important it is to you to get a window seat.’ 

Delia shrugged and made no motion to move, ‘They’ll make an announcement before it leaves. And if I have to sit in an aisle seat, well…getting to spend a few extra minutes with you is worth it.’ 

Patsy felt herself blushing, ‘I’m worth losing a window seat over, huh?’ 

Delia nodded authoritatively, ‘Absolutely.’ A slight smirk played on her lips, ‘And anyway, I have an entire bag of cakes I can use to try to bribe people to giving up their seats.’ 

Patsy playfully narrowed her eyes, ‘I’m becoming less convinced by the minute those cakes are making it off the train.’ 

Delia beamed back at her for a moment before suddenly shaking her head and releasing one of Patsy’s hands to reach into her pocket, ‘Speaking of bribery, I wanted to be sure to give this to you.’ 

She pulled out a massive wad of pound notes and plunked it unceremoniously in Patsy’s hand. Patsy was completely baffled, ‘Ummm…I don’t actually need, or even really _want_ , a load of cash from you, Delia.’ 

Delia smiled, ‘That’s reassuring because I don’t _have_ a load of cash to give you. That’s actually yours. Barbara grabbed it out of the till at Libby’s and threw it at me so that I could take a cab here. But, as you can see, it was _far_ too much. You might want to talk to her about that, actually. She may be getting scammed by cab drivers.’ 

Patsy stared at the money, torn between appreciation that Barbara had made sure Delia could get here and consternation that she had randomly grabbed money from the till. Balancing the books tonight would be an ordeal. Delia’s soft voice pulled her from her thoughts, ‘The cab fare was exactly 15 pounds, but I gave him a 3 pound tip for putting up with me freaking out about the traffic. So just add 18 to what’s there, and you’ll know exactly how much she took out.’ 

Patsy looked up in shock to see Delia looking at her with a wry smile on her lips, ‘Like you said, Pats, you run a tight ship.’ 

Patsy smiled down at her and stuck the money in her coat pocket, taking Delia’s other hand in hers again, ‘I’ll be sure to thank Barbara for making sure that you could get here. And don’t worry too much about her and cab drivers. I don’t think she’s actually taken a cab in _years_. She cycles everywhere. She probably thinks that cab fares are all 100 pounds each.’ 

‘That certainly tracks with how much she gave me.’ 

Suddenly an announcement rang out through the station, the GWR train to Carmarthen was leaving in a few minutes. Patsy felt her stomach lurch. She didn’t want Delia to have to go. She felt Delia squeeze her hands a little tighter. 

‘Have a wonderful holiday and a fabulous time in Paris.’ 

Patsy nodded and swallowed, ‘And you have a wonderful time in Wales.’ 

Delia swung Patsy’s hands back and forth a bit, obviously not really wanting to let go, ‘You’re not allowed to get seduced by some random sultry Parisian woman, okay?’ 

Patsy raised an eyebrow, ‘Delia, no one is going to try to seduce me.’ 

Delia furrowed her brow, ‘But everyone knows Paris is the most romantic city, and what if some sensual patisserie shop owner promises you access to her secret recipes for the world’s best croissants?’ 

Patsy cocked her head to the side as if considering, ‘How secret is the recipe?’ 

Delia pushed her lightly, ‘Hey!’ 

Patsy chuckled, ‘You have _nothing_ to worry about, Deels. As far as I’m concerned, I’m taken.’ She suddenly realized they’d never really formally stated that they were dating or exclusive or anything like that. Though Delia had just told her not to get seduced by a Frenchwoman, so it seemed like a pretty safe bet, but still, she probably shouldn’t assume, ‘I mean, if you want me to be taken…by you.’ She felt herself turning red. That had sounded much dirtier than she’d intended. ‘That is to say, if you want us to be together…exclusively…as a couple well then, that’s something that I would like…if you’d like to.’

She finally stumbled to a halt, noticing that Delia’s eyes were twinkling with amusement. 

‘Yes, Pats, that’s something I would also like.’ 

Patsy exhaled, grateful that Delia seemed to find her awkwardness endearing. She beamed down at Delia, ‘In that case, you’re not allowed to get seduced by some random charming Welshwoman either.’ 

Delia snorted, ‘Trust me, Pats, some random Welsh woman isn’t going to suddenly appear to sweep me off my feet.’ 

Patsy smiled adoringly down at her, a little twinkle in her eye, ‘So that just happens to me, then?’ 

Delia looked a bit taken aback for a moment before breaking out into a beaming smile, a flush creeping across her cheeks.

Another announcement rang out, declaring that the departure of Delia’s train was imminent. 

‘I guess I should probably actually go now.’ Delia looked back over her shoulder towards the train reluctantly, ‘Thank you for coming to see me off, Pats. And for the treats.’ 

Before Patsy had a chance to respond, Delia released her hands and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around the redhead and pulling her into a tight, warm hug. Patsy happily returned the embrace, a feeling of completeness flowing through her. After a few moments, Delia released her and took a small step back before standing on her tiptoes and placing a gentle kiss on Patsy’s cheek. 

‘I’ll see you on January 9th. And I’ll text you when I arrive in Tenby.’ 

Patsy nodded before glancing around furtively and, upon determining that no one was paying any attention to them, leaned forward quickly and planted a soft, quick kiss on Delia’s lips. She pulled away, impressed with her own bravery, to see Delia smiling up at her in wonder, ‘January 9th. It’s a date.’ 

________________

 

Delia stared up adoringly at Patsy for as long as she dared before grabbing her bags and running onto the train just as the doors closed. 

She turned and waved back towards Patsy through the door windows as the train pulled away. Her heart leapt as the redhead waved back, jogging a few steps forward to keep Delia in view for as long as possible.

Once Patsy was out of view, she sighed deeply and set about finding a seat. Luckily, she was able to find an open window seat after some searching. Stowing her roller bag, she peeked into the bag of cakes before placing it gently next to her seat and taking out the thermos and éclair. Taking a giant bite, she closed her eyes and savoured the flavour. It reminded her of Patsy. 

Looking at the bag of pastries again, she figured she should probably call her mam and tell her about the cakes. Cakes from her girlfriend. Who owned a bakery. The very thought sent a little bolt of happiness through her. 

Normally, she’d never even consider telling her mam about someone this early on in a relationship, but this, well…Delia didn’t know how she knew, exactly, but she could tell this was different. This felt deeper than a three-day relationship had any right to. It felt like _more_. 

Looking down at her phone, she jotted out a quick message to Patsy before taking another bite of the éclair. She couldn’t wait for January 9th.

_____________

Patsy looked down as her phone buzzed. It was a message from Delia. 

_I was able to grab a window seat after all, though you would have been worth it regardless. ;) The éclair is delicious. I miss you already._

She beamed down at her phone. 

**I see the éclair didn’t even make it out of the city. Well, you were nothing if not honest about your weakness for pastry. I miss you already too.**

Patsy sighed as she looked out the window of the cab back to Libby’s. She _did_ miss Delia already…more than she had any right to, considering they’d been dating for three days. Some part of her knew she should feel a little foolish about feeling so _much_ after such a short time. But actually, she didn’t feel foolish at all. She didn’t know how she knew, but she could tell, this was the start of something special. 

She glanced down at her phone with a smile as Delia’s reply came buzzing back. January 9th couldn’t come soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for embarking upon this little eight day (in story time) journey with me. I hope it was able to bring some joy to your holidays...and beyond. :)


End file.
